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Critical comment on the assumptions leading to 24-chain microfibrils in wood

Nature Plants (2024)Cite this article

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The Original Article was published on 22 June 2023

arising from H.-C. Tai et al. Nature Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01430-z (2023)

The number of cellulose chains included in an average cellulose microfibril (CMF; also known as an elementary fibril) in plant cell walls is still an unresolved topic, to which new characterization techniques could bring better understanding. Tai et al.1 recently combined small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy to estimate the number of chains in CMFs of the secondary cell walls of different wood samples, resulting in the value 24. The methodology used to derive the number of chains in their work relies on the assumption that a clear electron density difference exists between the CMF core and the surface chains, which we do not consider realistic. By instead assuming a larger density difference at the interface of the CMF and the hemicellulose/water matrix, the results may be seen to support a smaller number of chains in a CMF.

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Fig. 1: Simulation snapshots of a CMF aggregate.

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This manuscript does not present any new data. All of the data mentioned in this manuscript are available in the original publications.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the authors of the original article (Tai et al.1) for their co-operation. P.A.P. thanks the Research Council of Finland (grant 338804) for funding. We are grateful for support from the FinnCERES Materials Bioeconomy Ecosystem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Paavo A. Penttilä

  2. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Espoo, Finland

    Antti Paajanen

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  1. Paavo A. Penttilä
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  2. Antti Paajanen
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P.A.P. conceptualized the article and wrote the initial draft. A.P. contributed to the conceptualization and writing of the article.

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Correspondence to Paavo A. Penttilä.

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Penttilä, P.A., Paajanen, A. Critical comment on the assumptions leading to 24-chain microfibrils in wood. Nat. Plants (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01689-w

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