RWA Proteins Play Vital and Distinct Roles in Cell Wall O-Acetylation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Reduced Wall Acetylation (RWA) proteins are involved in cell wall acetylation in plants. Previously, we have described a single mutant, rwa2, which has about 20% lower level of O-acetylation in leaf cell walls and no obvious growth or developmental phenotype (Manabe et al. (2011) Plant Physiol 155: 1068-1078). In this study, we have generated double, triple and quadruple loss-of-function mutants of all four members of the RWA family in Arabidopsis thaliana. In contrast to rwa2, the triple and quadruple rwa mutants display severe growth phenotypes revealing the importance of wall acetylation for plant growth and development. The quadruple rwa mutant can be completely complemented with the RWA2 protein expressed under 35S promoter, indicating the functional redundancy of the RWA proteins. Nevertheless, the degree of acetylation of xylan, (gluco)mannan and xyloglucan as well as overall cell wall acetylation is affected differently in different combinations of triple mutants, suggesting their diversity in substrate preference. The overall degree of wall acetylation in the rwa quadruple mutant was reduced by 63% compared to the wild type, and histochemical analysis of the rwa quadruple mutant stem indicates defects in cell differentiation of cell types with secondary cell walls.