Recent Posts

The catalytic domain of cellulose synthase: More than just cellulose biosynthesis

Huang et al. demonstrate that the conserved catalytic domain of cellulose synthase 6 (CESA6) is involved in trafficking, protein dynamics, and complex formation. The Plant Cell (2023) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad110 Lei Huang,1,2 Weiwei Zhang,1,3 Xiaohui Li,1,2 and Christopher J. Staiger1,2,3 1Department…

Point mutations in the catalytic domain disrupt cellulose synthase vesicle trafficking and protein dynamics

Cellulose is an important and useful biopolymer, present in plant cell walls and synthesized at the plasma membrane by protein complexes called cellulose synthase complexes (CSCs) composed of multimers of cellulose synthase (CESA). CESAs are embedded in the membrane and move along the membrane as they…

TOC-TIC supercomplex structure

In an evolutionary plot twist, most of the proteins needed inside the chloroplast are encoded in the nucleus and translated in the cytosol as preproteins. The preproteins are imported into the chloroplast through two membranes (outer and inner). Genetic and biochemical approaches have revealed many of…