Abstract text: Global interest in legumes like lentil (Lens culinaris) is increasing due to their nutritional value and their contribution to sustainable agriculture. In this context, understanding lentil seeds composition is a scientific challenge, with potential impacts in food processing industry and varietal selection. While Canada leads global production, France specifically cultivates the Anicia green lentil variety. Therefore, our goal is to carry out a cell wall characterization of the French lentil variety compared to the Canadian Eston variety, also available on the French market. Previous studies have demonstrated that fiber content varies between varieties suggesting underlying differences in cell wall structure.

Our results showed similar amounts of major cell wall polysaccharides, such as cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose. However, HPAEC-PAD quantification revealed significant differences in the monosaccharide composition of pectins. Since the cell wall is a dynamic structure, we also assessed the enzymatic activity of polygalacturonases and pectin methylesterases, and quantified the degree of methylesterification of pectins using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Finally, a global cell wall analysis by ATR-FTIR allowed us to identify distinct cell wall fingerprints in the absorption spectra of the two varieties. Altogether, these results shed new light on differences between varieties and how this could impact industrial processes.