CELLULOSE-PROTEIN COMPLEXES 239 



fined by these parameters, in configurations demanded by surface 

 forces. 



The significance of these observations is that precisely the same 

 observations have been made also with collagen fibers from the 

 tendon of Achilles. The surfaces of collagen and cellulose micro- 

 fibrils, therefore, have in common an array of active centers defined 

 by the parameters given above. It is not yet known whether or not 

 other proteins behave similarly; these form the object of further 

 investigations now in progress. 



<7 

 Fig. 7 Fig. 8 



Fig. 7. Electron diffraction diagram of the Cu-celluiose complex in Pseu- 

 dotsuga cellulose; the constituent microfibrils lie parallel to the longer edge of 

 the page. Contrast with Fig. 5, in which the orientation is the same. 



Fig. 8. The two-dimensional array of Cu atoms presumed to lie on the 

 surface of cellulose microfibrils in the Cu-cellulose complex. The parameter p 

 lies parallel to microfibril length (for values of p and q, see text). 



The Stability of Protein-Cellulose Complexes in Plants 



Although little specific attention has been given to any mutual 

 stabilization between proteins and polysaccharides in plants, there 

 are indications in the hterature of such a stabilization, over and 

 above the frequent statements that high sugar content in a tissue 

 appears to prevent protein degradation. When leaves fall on the 

 soil, die, and are buried, then both the proteins and the polysac- 

 charides break down rapidly under the influence of microorganisms 



