Autolysis in vitro of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibre cell walls

Cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L. ev. Stoneville No. 406) fibres possess several types of cell wall‐bound (1→3)‐β‐glucanase activities and a significant amount of the (1→3)‐β‐glucan callose. When fibre cell wall fragments are incubated in vitro, free glucose is released. Such autolysis is barely measurable at the primary cell wall stage of development when the endogenous (1→3)‐β‐3‐glucan content is low. At the beginning of secondary cell wall formation, when the (1→3)‐β‐glucan is at a maximum, the rate of autolysis increases markedly and then remains more or less constant. Nojirimycin, a specific inhibitor of β‐glucosidase, decreases the amount of free glucose released and results in the production of a corresponding amount of (1→3)‐β‐linked oligosaccharides.