Tag: Cell Walls

Okekeogbu et al. compare the glycomes and proteomes of the Golgi in grasses and dicots, finding that the differences in cell wall architecture are not reflected in differences between polysaccharides produced in the Golgi. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00755 Background: Grasses and other…

There is an ever-growing need for novel herbicides as more weeds are becoming resistant to commonly used herbicides. In a recent report from Hu et al., the authors identified that a previously described cellulose biosynthesis-inhibiting chemical, C17, possesses an herbicidal quality. The authors showed…

Zhang et al. discover a deacetylase from rice that highlights the importance regulating acetylation in the cell wall. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00894 By Baocai Zhang and Yihua Zhou, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Background: Plant cells…

Šola et al. examine how galactose alters rhamnogalacturonan-I properties. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.000954 By Krešimir Šola and George W. Haughn Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada Background: Pectin is a component of the plant…

Endomembrane vesicles carry not only secreted proteins but also carbohydrates for cell wall synthesis, yet relatively less is know about this latter process. Wilkop et al. describe a method to investigate the glycan contents of specific subsets of vesicles, to begin to understand how these cargos are…

Lignin, polymerized from aromatic monolignols, provides strength to cell walls but its resistance to enzymatic degradation thwarts efforts to isolate cellulosic carbohydrates from cell walls for biofuels and other applications. It has been shown that lignin’s properties can be altered by the incorporation…

The secondary cell wall (SCW) plays an important role in the structural integrity of plants and is key to efficient water conductivity. Despite the important role of the SCW, little known about how and when SCW components are assembled. Currently, it is understood that cellulose deposition is a precursor…

Plant cell walls are complex and somewhat difficult to study, but also idespensible for plants and central to many of the ways that people use plants (from wood to fibers to fuels). Two new articles review diverse aspects of plant cell wall synthesis. Polko and Kieber (Plant Cell 10.1105/tpc.18.00760…