Approaches to understanding the functional architecture of the plant cell wall
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Cell wall polysaccharides are some of the most complex biopolymers known, and yet their functions remain largely mysterious. Advances in imaging methods permit direct visualisation of the molecular architecture of cell walls and the modifications that occur to polymers during growth and development. To address the structural and functional relationships of individual cell wall components, we need to better characterise a broad range of structural and architectural alterations in cell walls, appearing as a consequence of developmental regulation, environmental adaptation or genetic modification. We have developed a rapid method to screen large numbers of plants for a broad range of cell wall phenotypes using Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy and Principal Component Analysis. We are using model systems to uncover the genes that encode some of the cell-wall-related biosynthetic and hydrolytic enzymes, and structural proteins.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Phytochemistry |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 6 |
Pages (from-to) | 811-821 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISSN | 0031-9422 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Jul 2001 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
We are grateful to Drs. J.P. Knox and P. Van Cutsem for their kind gifts of mAbs. We would like to thank Kate Kemsley for advice on using PCA and LDA, Grant Calder for assistance with the Leica confocal microscope, Sue Bunnewell for photographic assistance, and Dr. Jonathon Jones and Dr. Wendy Durrant for assistance and advice with the cDNA-AFLP screen. NJS, MD, GC, RHW and KR gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the BBSRC. DM is funded by an EU Marie Curie Fellowship, MB is funded by an EU network grant, PS is funded by a BBSRC special studentship, NCC is funded by a grant from the US National Science Foundation Genome Research Program, and MCM is funded by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship.
- Arabidopsis, CDNA-AFLP, Cellulose, Compositae, Cruciferae, Fourier transform infrared micro-spectroscopy, Pectin, Reflectance confocal scanning laser microscopy, Solanaceae, Solanum tuberosum, Zinnia elegans
Research areas
ID: 308329071