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.