RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes Involved in the Secondary Cell Wall Biogenesis in Hybrid Aspen JF Plant Physiology JO Plant Physiol. FD American Society of Plant Biologists SP 983 OP 997 DO 10.1104/pp.104.055087 VO 137 IS 3 A1 Aspeborg, Henrik A1 Schrader, Jarmo A1 Coutinho, Pedro M. A1 Stam, Mark A1 Kallas, Åsa A1 Djerbi, Soraya A1 Nilsson, Peter A1 Denman, Stuart A1 Amini, Bahram A1 Sterky, Fredrik A1 Master, Emma A1 Sandberg, Göran A1 Mellerowicz, Ewa A1 Sundberg, Björn A1 Henrissat, Bernard A1 Teeri, Tuula T. YR 2005 UL http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/137/3/983.abstract AB Wood formation is a fundamental biological process with significant economic interest. While lignin biosynthesis is currently relatively well understood, the pathways leading to the synthesis of the key structural carbohydrates in wood fibers remain obscure. We have used a functional genomics approach to identify enzymes involved in carbohydrate biosynthesis and remodeling during xylem development in the hybrid aspen Populus tremula × tremuloides. Microarrays containing cDNA clones from different tissue-specific libraries were hybridized with probes obtained from narrow tissue sections prepared by cryosectioning of the developing xylem. Bioinformatic analyses using the sensitive tools developed for carbohydrate-active enzymes allowed the identification of 25 xylem-specific glycosyltransferases belonging to the Carbohydrate-Active EnZYme families GT2, GT8, GT14, GT31, GT43, GT47, and GT61 and nine glycosidases (or transglycosidases) belonging to the Carbohydrate-Active EnZYme families GH9, GH10, GH16, GH17, GH19, GH28, GH35, and GH51. While no genes encoding either polysaccharide lyases or carbohydrate esterases were found among the secondary wall-specific genes, one putative O-acetyltransferase was identified. These wood-specific enzyme genes constitute a valuable resource for future development of engineered fibers with improved performance in different applications.