Changes in polysaccharide composition of stipe cell wall were followed during basidiocarp maturation in wild-type stock (#5026+5132) and the elongationless mutant (NG0398) of Coprinus macrorhizus, and then the correlation between contents of the respective polysaccharide components and mechanical properties of stipe cell wall was examined. Polysaccharides of stipe cell wall were fractionated into five fractions, i.e., fraction I, II, III and IV polysaccharides and chitin. In the wild type, the content (% of cell wall) of fraction I decreased during an early phase of maturation and then remained unchanged. Fraction III and IV contents increased once and then decreased. Fraction II and chitin contents remained almost constant during an early phase of maturation and then increased as stipe elongation proceeded. On the basis of the correlation between the polysaccharide contents and mechanical properties, it was suggested that the higher proportion of fraction III and/or fraction IV content(s) stimulated stipe elongation, and that the higher proportion of fraction II and/or chitin content(s) resulted in lower rate of elongation. In the mutant, changes in the contents of the respective polysaccharides were basically similar to those in the wild type. Thus, differences in the rate of stipe elongation and mechanical properties between the wild type and the mutant could not be simply explained in terms of polysaccharide content.
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Kamada et al. (1977) studied this question.