Fig. 8

In situ imaging by stimulated Raman scattering microscopy of lignin, cellulose, and xylan in corn stover cell walls before and after xylan digestion. (Reprinted from [78] with permission). a Comparison of bright-field cell wall morphology and concentration of lignin, cellulose, and xylan following xylanase digestion. b Comparison of overall amount change measured from SRS images (before xylan digestion = 100%) (Lig lignin, Cel cellulose and Xyl xylan; error bars are from 5 repeat experiments). Lignin and cellulose are not affected, while xylan is significantly reduced due to xylanases digestion. c Zoom images of cell wall in two areas in vascular bundle region (C1–C4 before xylan digestion; and C1′–C4′ after xylan digestion) show significant xylan distribution changes in the cell wall due to the heterogeneous enzymatic digestion. Raman frequencies used for SRS imaging: lignin—1600 cm⁻¹, cellulose—1100 cm⁻¹, and xylan—1471 cm⁻¹. Scale bar = 20 µm