Sweet and Juicy: Identification and Origins of the Dry Alleles in Sorghum
The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefSorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is the fifth most important cereal crop globally and is considered to be the “camel among crops” due to its ability to flourish in low-nutrient soils and to withstand prolonged drought. Cultivated varieties are phenotypically and morphological diverse. Consequently, sorghum…
Complete substitution of a secondary cell wall with primary cell wall in Arabidopsis (Nature Plants - $)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlant cell walls are important for terrestrial lifestyle, providing support and directing the plant growth. The primary and secondary cell walls differ in their chemical composition and flexibility. Secondary cell walls are less perceptive to industrial degradation processes and therefore pose problems…
Cellulose Synthase Stoichiometry Varies among Species and Tissues
Blog, Plant Physiology, Plant Physiology: News and ViewsCellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on earth, is an important structural component of the primary and secondary cell wall of plant cells. It is also found in animals (tunicates), oomycetes, and bacteria (Kumar and Turner, 2015). Besides providing support and rigidity in living organisms, cellulose…
Enzyme helps as a transcription factor in lignin production
Blog, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: NewsArjen Dijkgraaf | Wednesday, July 4, 2018 (Originally published in C2W Boeken. Translation by Google Translate)
In poplars a protein appears to have a bizarre double function: it makes building blocks for amino acids but also regulates the production of lignin. It could be a new way to create…
A 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase functions as a transcriptional repressor in Populus
Plant Science Research WeeklyHere’s a fascinating story; starting with an association study, Xie et al. found that a protein previously identified as an enzyme involved in phenylpropanoid metabolism (specifically, 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate synthase, EPSP) also acts as a transcriptional regulator of this pathway, not only…
Life of PPi: Soluble PPases and H+-PPase act cooperatively to keep pyrophosphate levels in check
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefInorganic phosphate (PPi) is a byproduct of many metabolic reactions, including those involved in sucrose, sugar nucleotide, and cellulose biosynthesis. Although PPi is an important phosphate donor and source of cellular energy, high levels of cytosolic PPi are toxic, disrupting the metabolic reactions…
Cell wall properties in Oryza sativa influence mesophyll carbon dioxide conductance (New Phytol) $
Blog, Plant Science Research Weekly, Research, Research BlogMesophyll CO2 conductance (gm) is an important factor in determining the concentration of CO2 at the site of fixation in the chloroplast stroma, and as such is crucial for determining photosynthetic capacity. The mesophyll cell wall provides a major site of resistance to CO2 diffusion into the stroma…
A New Polysaccharide with a Long Evolutionary History
Blog, Research, The Plant Cell, The Plant Cell: In BriefBy Peter Ulvskov and Jesper Harholt
For the first time in a very long time, a new polysaccharide is reported in plants. Roberts et al. (2018) discovered an arabinoglucan in the moss Physcomitrella patens. This discovery came about not as a result of biochemical characterization of the moss cell…
A moss glycosyltransferase produces a novel cell wall arabinoglucan ($) (Plant Cell)
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants produce a wide range of polysaccharides in their cell walls, some of which are restricted to certain species. Roberts et al. investigated a moss gene encoding an enzyme that resembles a mixed-linkage (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan (MLG) synthase. When expressed in tobacco, this enzyme produces a novel unbranched,…