THE MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODY JIM5 INDICATES PATTERNS OF PECTIN DEPOSITION IN RELATION TO PIT FIELDS AT THE PLASMA-MEMBRANE-FACE OF TOMATO PERICARP CELL-WALLS

The use of the anti-pectin monoclonal antibody JIM5 in conjunction with immunofluorescence microscopy and also confocal microscopy has indicated that the JIM5 epitope is associated with structural features of the plasma-membrane-face of the cell wall of tomato pericarp cells. JIM5 recognized the primary pit fields of the cell walls, as identified by co-staining with callose-reactive aniline blue. In addition, abundant linear arrays of the pectin epitope were observed to radiate out from the primary pit fields in parallel, as well as random, arrangements. These observations have implications for our understanding of the organization of the polymer networks that comprise the primary cell wall.