Unmethyl-esterified homogalacturonan and extensins seal Arabidopsis graft union

BACKGROUND: Grafting is a technique widely used in horticulture. The processes involved in grafting are diverse, and the technique is commonly employed in studies focusing on the mechanisms that regulate cell differentiation or response of plants to abiotic stress. Information on the changes in the composition of the cell wall that occur during the grafting process is scarce. Therefore, this study was carried out for analyzing the composition of the cell wall using Arabidopsis hypocotyls as an example. During the study, the formation of a layer that covers the surface of the graft union was observed. So, this study also aimed to describe the histological and cellular changes that accompany autografting of Arabidopsis hypocotyls and to perform preliminary chemical and structural analyses of extracellular material that seals the graft union. RESULTS: During grafting, polyphenolic and lipid compounds were detected, along with extracellular deposition of carbohydrate/protein material. The spatiotemporal changes observed in the structure of the extracellular material included the formation of a fibrillar network, polymerization of the fibrillar network into a membranous layer, and the presence of bead-like structures on the surface of cells in established graft union. These bead-like structures appeared either “closed” or “open”. Only three cell wall epitopes, namely: LM19 (un/low-methyl-esterified homogalacturonan), JIM11, and JIM20 (extensins), were detected abundantly on the cut surfaces that made the adhesion plane, as well as in the structure that covered the graft union and in the bead-like structures, during the subsequent stages of regeneration. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the composition and structure of the extracellular material that gets deposited on the surface of graft union during Arabidopsis grafting. The results showed that unmethyl-esterified homogalacturonan and extensins are together involved in the adhesion of scion and stock, as well as taking part in sealing the graft union. The extracellular material is of importance not only due to the potential pectin–extensin interaction but also due to its origin. The findings presented here implicate a need for studies with biochemical approach for a detailed analysis of the composition and structure of the extracellular material. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-019-1748-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.