1. 纤维素
Cellulose is a dominant structural polysaccharide in plants composed ofβ -D-glucose units with β-1,4-linkages.
Cellulose decomposition requires multiple enzymes. In general, cellulose is degraded to cellodextrin or cellobiose by the synergistic action of two cellulases: endoglucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) and cellobiohydrolase (EC 3.2.1.91) (Tomme et al., 1995; Bayer et al., 1998). Degradation of cellodextrin or cellobiose into monomeric glucose units requires another enzyme, β-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21), that hydrolyzes non-reducing 1,4-linked-β-glucose (Henrissat et al., 1989).
2. 半纤维素
Cellulose fibers are cross-linked by other polysaccharides called `hemicelluloses’ to increase the physical strength of the cell wall. Hemicelluloses include xylan (β-D-xylose units with β-1,4-linkages), glucomannan (β-D-mannose units andβ -D-glucose units with β-1,4-linkages), xyloglucan (β-D-glucose units with β-1,4-linkages, andβ -D-xylose and β-D-glucose units withβ -1,6-linkages), 1,3-1,4-β-glucan (β-D-glucose units with β-1,3- and β-1,4-linkages), and a relatively small amount of other polysaccharides composed of β-D-glucose,β -D-xylose, β-D-mannose and other sugar units with various linkages (McNeill et al., 1984).
3. 果胶
The scaffold of cellulose and hemicelluloses is filled with pectin (α-D-galacturonic acid units with mainly α-1,4-linkages), which functions as a cement-like substance in the cell wall.