Comparative in situ analyses of cell wall matrix polysaccharide dynamics in developing rice and wheat grain

Cell wall polysaccharides of wheat and rice endosperm are an important source of dietary fibre. Monoclonal antibodies specific to cell wall polysaccharides were used to determine polysaccharide dynamics during the development of both wheat and rice grain. Wheat and rice grain present near synchronous developmental processes and significantly different endosperm cell wall compositions, allowing the localisation of these polysaccharides to be related to developmental changes. Arabinoxylan (AX) and mixed-linkage glucan (MLG) have analogous cellular locations in both species, with deposition of AX and MLG coinciding with the start of grain filling. A glucuronoxylan (GUX) epitope was detected in rice, but not wheat endosperm cell walls. Callose has been reported to be associated with the formation of cell wall outgrowths during endosperm cellularisation and xyloglucan is here shown to be a component of these anticlinal extensions, occurring transiently in both species. Pectic homogalacturonan (HG) was abundant in cell walls of maternal tissues of wheat and rice grain, but only detected in endosperm cell walls of rice in an unesterified HG form. A rhamnogalacturonan-I (RG-I) backbone epitope was observed to be temporally regulated in both species, detected in endosperm cell walls from 12 DAA in rice and 20 DAA in wheat grain. Detection of the LM5 galactan epitope showed a clear distinction between wheat and rice, being detected at the earliest stages of development in rice endosperm cell walls, but not detected in wheat endosperm cell walls, only in maternal tissues. In contrast, the LM6 arabinan epitope was detected in both species around 8 DAA and was transient in wheat grain, but persisted in rice until maturity

Synergy between EngE, XynA and ManA from Clostridium cellulovorans on corn stalk, grass and pineapple pulp substrates

The synergistic interaction between various hemi/cellulolytic enzymes has become more important in order to achieve effective and optimal degradation of complex lignocellulose substrates for biofuel production. This study investigated the synergistic effect of three enzymes endoglucanase (EngE), mannanase (ManA) and xylanase (XynA) on the degradation of corn stalk, grass, and pineapple fruit pulp and determined the optimal degree of synergy between combinations of these enzymes. It was established that EngE was essential for degradation of all of the substrates, while the hemicellulases were able to contribute in a synergistic fashion to increase the activity on these substrates. Maximum specific activity and degree of synergy on the corn stalk and grass was found with EngE:XynA in a ratio of 75:25%, with a specific activity of 41.1 U/mg protein and a degree of synergy of 6.3 for corn stalk, and 44.1 U/mg protein and 3.4 for grass, respectively. The pineapple fruit pulp was optimally digested using a ManA:EngE combination in a 50:50% ratio; the specific activity and degree of synergy achieved were 52.4 U/mg protein and 2.7, respectively. This study highlights the importance of hemicellulases for the synergistic degradation of complex lignocellulose. The inclusion of a mannanase in an enzyme consortium for biomass degradation should be examined further as this study suggests that it may play an important, although mostly overlooked, role in the synergistic saccharification of lignocellulose

Characterization of a modular enzyme of exo-1,5-α-l-arabinofuranosidase and arabinan binding module from Streptomyces avermitilis NBRC14893

A gene encoding an α-l-arabinofuranosidase, designated SaAraf43A, was cloned from Streptomyces avermitilis. The deduced amino acid sequence implies a modular structure consisting of an N-terminal glycoside hydrolase family 43 module and a C-terminal family 42 carbohydrate-binding module (CBM42). The recombinant enzyme showed optimal activity at pH 6.0 and 45°C and was stable over the pH range of 5.0–6.5 at 30°C. The enzyme hydrolyzed p-nitrophenol (PNP)-α-l-arabinofuranoside but did not hydrolyze PNP-α-l-arabinopyranoside, PNP-β-d-xylopyranoside, or PNP-β-d-galactopyranoside. Debranched 1,5-arabinan was hydrolyzed by the enzyme but arabinoxylan, arabinogalactan, gum arabic, and arabinan were not. Among the synthetic regioisomers of arabinofuranobiosides, only methyl 5-O-α-l-arabinofuranosyl-α-l-arabinofuranoside was hydrolyzed by the enzyme, while methyl 2-O-α-l-arabinofuranosyl-α-l-arabinofuranoside and methyl 3-O-α-l-arabinofuranosyl-α-l-arabinofuranoside were not. These data suggested that the enzyme only cleaves α-1,5-linked arabinofuranosyl linkages. The analysis of the hydrolysis product of arabinofuranopentaose suggested that the enzyme releases arabinose in exo-acting manner. These results indicate that the enzyme is definitely an exo-1,5-α-l-arabinofuranosidase. The C-terminal CBM42 did not show any affinity for arabinogalactan and debranched arabinan, although it bound arabinan and arabinoxylan, suggesting that the CBM42 bound to branched arabinofuranosyl residues. Removal of the module decreased the activity of the enzyme with regard to debranched arabinan. The CBM42 plays a role in enhancing the debranched arabinan hydrolytic action of the catalytic module in spite of its preference for binding arabinofuranosyl side chains

PtrWRKY19, a novel WRKY transcription factor, contributes to the regulation of pith secondary wall formation in Populus trichocarpa

WRKY proteins are one of the largest transcription factor families in higher plants and play diverse roles in various biological processes. Previous studies have shown that some WRKY members act as negative regulators of secondary cell wall formation in pith parenchyma cells. However, the regulatory mechanism of pith secondary wall formation in tree species remains largely unknown. In this study, PtrWRKY19 encoding a homolog of Arabidopsis WRKY12 was isolated from Populus trichocarpa. PtrWRKY19 was expressed in all tissues tested, with highest expression in stems, especially in pith. PtrWRKY19 was located in the nucleus and functioned as a transcriptional repressor. Ectopic expression of PtrWRKY19 in an atwrky12 mutant successfully rescued the phenotype in pith cell walls caused by the defect of AtWRKY12, suggesting that PtrWRKY19 had conserved functions for homologous AtWRKY12. Overexpression of PtrWRKY19 in poplar plants led to a significant increase in the number of pith parenchyma cells. qRT-PCR analysis showed that lignin biosynthesis-related genes were repressed in transgenic plants. In transcient reporter assays, PtrWRKY19 was identified to repress transcription from the PtoC4H2 promoter containing the conserved W-box elements. These results indicated that PtrWRKY19 may function as a negative regulator of pith secondary wall formation in poplar

Down-regulation of four putative arabinoxylan feruloyl transferase genes from family PF02458 reduces ester-linked ferulate content in rice cell walls

Industrial processes to produce ethanol from lignocellulosic materials are available, but improved efficiency is necessary to make them economically viable. One of the limitations for lignocellulosic conversion to ethanol is the inaccessibility of the cellulose and hemicelluloses within the tight cell wall matrix. Ferulates (FA) can cross-link different arabinoxylan molecules in the cell wall of grasses via diferulate and oligoferulate bridges. This complex cross-linking is thought to be a key factor in limiting the biodegradability of grass cell walls and, therefore, the reduction in FA is an attractive target to improve enzyme accessibility to cellulose and hemicelluloses. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the genes responsible for the incorporation of FA to the cell wall is limited. A bioinformatics prediction based on the gene similarities and higher transcript abundance in grasses relative to dicot species suggested that genes from the pfam family PF02458 may act as arabinoxylan feruloyl transferases. We show here that the FA content in the cell walls and the transcript levels of rice genes Os05g08640, Os06g39470, Os01g09010 and Os06g39390, are both higher in the stems than in the leaves. In addition, an RNA interference (RNAi) construct that simultaneously down-regulates transcript levels of these four genes is associated with a significant reduction in FA of the cell walls from the leaves of the transgenic plants relative to the control (19% reduction, P < 0.0001). Therefore, our experimental results in rice support the bioinformatics prediction that members of family PF02458 are involved in the incorporation of FA into the cell wall in grasses

Inducible expression of Pisum sativum xyloglucan fucosyltransferase in the pea root cap meristem, and effects of antisense mRNA expression on root cap cell wall structural integrity

Mitosis and cell wall synthesis in the legume root cap meristem can be induced and synchronized by the nondestructive removal of border cells from the cap periphery. Newly synthesized cells can be examined microscopically as they differentiate progressively during cap development, and ultimately detach as a new population of border cells. This system was used to demonstrate that Pisum sativum L. fucosyl transferase (PsFut1) mRNA expression is strongly expressed in root meristematic tissues, and is induced >2-fold during a 5-h period when mitosis in the root cap meristem is increased. Expression of PsFut1 antisense mRNA in pea hairy roots under the control of the CaMV35S promoter, which exhibits meristem localized expression in pea root caps, resulted in a 50–60% reduction in meristem localized endogenous PsFut1 mRNA expression measured using whole mount in situ hybridization. Changes in gross levels of cell wall fucosylated xyloglucan were not detected, but altered surface localization patterns were detected using whole mount immunolocalization with CCRC-M1, an antibody that recognizes fucosylated xyloglucan. Emerging hairy roots expressing antisense PsFut1 mRNA appeared normal macroscopically but scanning electron microscopy of tissues with altered CCRC-M1 localization patterns revealed wrinkled, collapsed cell surfaces. As individual border cells separated from the cap periphery, cell death occurred in correlation with extrusion of cellular contents through breaks in the wall