Xyloglucan and Its Biosynthesis

The hemicellulosic polysaccharide xyloglucan (XyG), found in the primary cell walls of most plant tissues, is important for structural organization of the cell wall and regulation of growth and development. Significant recent progress in structural characterization of XyGs from different plant species has shed light on the diversification of XyG during plant evolution. Also, identification of XyG biosynthetic enzymes and examination of their interactions suggests the involvement of a multiprotein complex in XyG biosynthesis. This mini-review presents an updated overview of the diversity of XyG structures in plant taxa and recent findings on XyG biosynthesis

Plant root associated chitinases: structures and functions

Chitinases degrade chitin, a linear homopolymer of β-1,4-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) residues found in the cell walls of fungi and the exoskeletons of arthropods. They are secreted by the roots into the rhizosphere, a complex and dynamic environment where intense nutrient exchange occurs between plants and microbes. Here we modeled, expressed, purified, and characterized Zea mays and Oryza sativa root chitinases, and the chitinase of a symbiotic bacterium, Chitinophaga oryzae 1303 for their activities with chitin, di-, tri-, and tetra-saccharides and Aspergillus niger, with the goal of determining their role(s) in the rhizosphere and better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant-microbe interactions. We show that Zea mays basic endochitinase (ZmChi19A) and Oryza sativa chitinase (OsChi19A) are from the GH19 chitinase family. The Chitinophaga oryzae 1303 chitinase (CspCh18A) belongs to the GH18 family. The three enzymes have similar apparent KM values of (20-40 µM) for the substrate 4-MU-GlcNAc3. They vary in their pH and temperature optima with OsChi19A activity optimal between pH 5–7 and 30–40°C while ZmChi19A and CspCh18A activities were optimal at pH 7-9 and 50–60°C. Modeling and site-directed mutation of ZmChi19A identified the catalytic cleft and the active residues E147 and E169 strategically positioned at ~8.6Å from each other in the folded protein. Cleavage of 4-MU-GlcNAc3 was unaffected by the absence of the CBD but diminished in the absence of the flexible C-terminal domain. However, unlike for the soluble substrate, the CBD and the newly identified flexible C-terminal domain were vital for inhibiting Aspergillus niger growth. The results are consistent with the involvement of the plant chitinases in defense against pathogens like fungi that have chitin exoskeletons. In summary, we have characterized the functional features and structural domains necessary for the activity of two plant root chitinases that are believed to be involved in plant defense and a bacterial chitinase that, along with the plant chitinases, may participate in nutrient recycling in the rhizosphere

Decreased Polysaccharide Feruloylation Compromises Plant Cell Wall Integrity and Increases Susceptibility to Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens

The complexity of cell wall composition and structure determines the strength, flexibility, and function of the primary cell wall in plants. However, the contribution of the various components to cell wall integrity (CWI) and function remains unclear. Modifications of cell wall composition can induce plant responses known as CWI control. In this study, we used transgenic expression of the fungal feruloyl esterase AnFAE to examine the effect of post-synthetic modification of Arabidopsis and Brachypodium cell walls. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing AnFAE showed a significant reduction of monomeric ferulic acid, decreased amounts of wall-associated extensins, and increased susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea, compared with wild type. Transgenic Brachypodium showed reductions in monomeric and dimeric ferulic acids and increased susceptibility to Bipolaris sorokiniana. Upon infection, transgenic Arabidopsis and Brachypodium plants also showed increased expression of several defense-related genes compared with wild type. These results demonstrate a role, in both monocot and dicot plants, of polysaccharide feruloylation in plant CWI, which contributes to plant resistance to necrotrophic pathogens. Keywords: ferulic acid, cell wal

Cell wall traits as potential resources to improve resistance of durum wheat against Fusarium graminearum

Background: Fusarium graminearum, one of the causal agents of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB, scab), leads to severe losses in grain yield and quality due to the production of mycotoxins which are harmful to human and livestock. Different traits for FHB resistance in wheat were identified for common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) while the sources of FHB resistance in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. Durum), one of the cereals most susceptible to F. graminearum infection, have not been found. New lines of evidence indicate that content and composition of cell wall polymers affect the susceptibility of the wall to degrading enzymes produced by pathogens during infection and can play a role in the outcome of host-pathogen interactions. The objective of our research is to identify potential cell wall biochemical traits linked to Fusariosis resistance to be transferred from a resistant common wheat to a susceptible durum wheat line. Results: A detailed analysis of cell wall composition in spikes isolated from a highly resistant common wheat accession "02-5B-318", a breeding line derived from the FHB-resistant Chinese cv. Sumai-3 and a high susceptible durum wheat cv. Saragolla was performed. Significant differences in lignin monolignols composition, arabinoxylan (AX) substitutions and pectin methylesterification were found between resistant and susceptible plants. We isolated and characterized a pectin methylesterase gene WheatPME1, which we found being down regulated in the FHB-resistant line and induced by fungal infection in the susceptible wheat. Conclusions: Our results indicate cell wall traits differing between the FHB sensitive and resistant wheat genotypes, possibly related to FHB-resistance, and identify the line 02-5B-318R as a potential resource of such traits. Evidence suggests that WheatPME1 is involved in wheat response to F. graminearum

The effect of local immunity on gastric cancer prognosis

Aim. To study the state of local immunity in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. Materials and methods. From 2017 to 2018, 45 previously untreated patients with gastric adenocarcinoma (25 with stage IIII, 20 with stage IV) received surgical/combined treatment or chemotherapy, respectively, at the Blokhin Scientific Research Center of Oncology. Tumor tissue was taken before treatment. By using flow cytometry there were evaluated the percentage of tumor tissue infiltration by lymphocytes (CD45+CD14-TIL); T cells (CD3+CD19-TIL); B cells (CD3-CD19+TIL); NK cell (CD3-CD16+CD56+TIL); effector cells CD16 (CD16+Perforin+TIL) and CD8 (CD8+Perforin+TIL) with their cytotoxic potential active CD16TIL and active CD8TIL; subpopulations of regulatory T cells NKT cells (CD3+CD16+CD56+TIL), regulatory cells CD4 (CD4+CD25+CD127-TIL) and CD8 (CD8+CD11b-CD28-TIL). The prognostic value of immune cells for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was assessed. Results. A favorable prognosis factor for progression-free survival in patients with local and locally advanced forms of gastric cancer was an increase in the number of CD3-CD19+TIL (HR 0.862, 95% CI 0.7820.957, p=0.005), and an unfavorable prognosis was an increase in NK cells (CD3-CD16+CD56+TIL); HR 1.382, 95% CI 1.0871.758, p=0.008. The negative effect of the relative content of NK cells (CD3-CD16+CD56+TIL) and NKT cells (CD3+CD16+CD56+TIL) on OS of patients with metastatic gastric cancer noted (HR 1.249, 95% CI 0.9971.564, p=0.053; HR 1.127, 95% CI 1.0251.239, p=0.013). At the same time, an increase in the percentage of tumor tissue infiltration by lymphocytes (CD45+CD14-TIL) and an increase in the age of patients (HR 1.005, 95% CI 1.0021.008, p=0.003; HR 1.098, 95% CI 1.0311.170, p=0.004) reduce the incidence of PFS in patients with metastatic gastric carcinoma. Conclusion. Indices of local immunity can serve as additional prognostic factors for gastric carcinoma

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopic chemical imaging reveals distribution of pectin and its co-localization with xyloglucan inside onion epidermal cell wall.

The primary plant cell wall is a complex matrix composed of interconnected polysaccharides including cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. Changes of this dynamic polysaccharide system play a critical role during plant cell development and differentiation. A better understanding of cell wall architectures can provide insight into the plant cell development. In this study, a Raman spectroscopic imaging approach was developed to visualize the distribution of plant cell wall polysaccharides. In this approach, Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS through self-assembled silver nanoparticles) was combined with Raman labels (4-Aminothiophenol. 4ATP) and targeted enzymatic hydrolysis to improve the sensitivity, specificity, and throughput of the Raman imaging technique, and to reveal the distribution of pectin and its co-localization with xyloglucan inside onion epidermal cell (OEC) wall. This technique significantly decreased the required spectral acquisition time. The resulted Raman spectra showed a high Raman signal. The resulted Raman images successfully revealed and characterized the pectin distribution and its co-localization pattern with xyloglucan in OEC wall

Structure and dynamics of brachypodium primary cell wall polysaccharides from two-dimensional \u3csup\u3e13\u3c/sup\u3eC solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The polysaccharide structure and dynamics in the primary cell wall of the model grass Brachypodium distachyon are investigated for the first time using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). While both grass and non-grass cell walls contain cellulose as the main structural scaffold, the former contains xylan with arabinose and glucuronic acid substitutions as the main hemicellulose, with a small amount of xyloglucan (XyG) and pectins, while the latter contains XyG as the main hemicellulose and significant amounts of pectins. We labeled the Brachypodium cell wall with 13C to allow two-dimensional (2D) 13C correlation NMR experiments under magic-angle spinning. Well-resolved 2D spectra are obtained in which the 13C signals of cellulose, glucuronoarabinoxylan (GAX), and other matrix polysaccharides can be assigned. The assigned 13C chemical shifts indicate that there are a large number of arabinose and xylose linkages in the wall, and GAX is significantly branched at the developmental stage of 2 weeks. 2D 13C-13C correlation spectra measured with long spin diffusion mixing times indicate that the branched GAX approaches cellulose microfibrils on the nanometer scale, contrary to the conventional model in which only unbranched GAX can bind cellulose. The GAX chains are highly dynamic, with average order parameters of ∼0.4. Biexponential 13C T 1 and 1H T1p relaxation indicates that there are two dynamically distinct domains in GAX: the more rigid domain may be responsible for cross-linking cellulose microfibrils, while the more mobile domain may fill the interfibrillar space. This dynamic heterogeneity is more pronounced than that of the non-grass hemicellulose, XyG, suggesting that GAX adopts the mixed characteristics of XyG and pectins. Moderate differences in cellulose rigidity are observed between the Brachypodium and Arabidopsis cell walls, suggesting different effects of the matrix polysaccharides on cellulose. These data provide the first molecular-level structural information about the three-dimensional organization of the polysaccharides in the grass primary wall. © 2014 American Chemical Society