11/30/2011
Protein Complex Within Plant Cell Wall Associated with Secondary Cell-Wall Synthesis
Summary
The plant cell wall polysaccharide pectin is often associated with the tissue softening that occurs during fruit ripening. However, this complex compound is also involved in secondary cell-wall synthesis in grasses and woody plants, helping to give the plant rigidity, but also impeding the deconstruction of plant biomass and hence its conversion into biofuels. Researchers at the DOE BioEnergy Research Center (BESC) have discovered that the pectin-synthesizing enzyme GAUT1 forms an unusual, two-protein complex with a similar protein (GAUT7) that constitutes a critical part of a pectin-synthesizing protein complex. They also showed that this complex plays a role in secondary cell-wall synthesis. Manipulating the formation of this complex may provide a way to modify secondary cell walls, which could either increase available biomass or improve its digestibility for biofuel production.
References
Atmodjo, M. A., Y. Sakuragi, X. Zhu, A. J. Burrell, S. S. Mohanty, J. A. Atwood III, R. Orlando, H. V. Scheller, and D. Mohnen. 2011. “Galacturonosyltransferase (GAUT)1 and GAUT7 Are the Core of a Plant Cell Wall Pectin Biosynthetic Homogalacturonan: Galacturonosyltransferase Complex,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108(50), 20225-230. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.11128116108.