Plant cell walls are the most abundant source of renewable biomass on Earth. Cell wall carbohydrates have many practical applications (e.g., forage, building materials, biofuels, textiles, paper, etc.), and within plants they contribute to structure, provide defense, and facilitate cellular communication. This study is focused on the CELLULOSE SYNTHASELIKE A (CSLA) family, members of which have been implicated in the synthesis of the backbone of mannan polysaccharides in plant cell walls. The Arabidopsis genome contains nine CSLA genes and we hypothesize that there is some degree of functional redundancy among these genes. A detailed investigation of transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring promoter-GUS fusions at various phases of growth and development was conducted to examine the expression patterns of all nine CSLA genes. The expression patterns observed were largely overlapping, supporting the functional redundancy hypothesis. Some unique exceptions were also documented, providing insights into possible focal regions for future mutational studies.
","abstract_html":"<p>Plant cell walls are the most abundant source of renewable biomass on Earth. Cell wall carbohydrates have many practical applications (e.g., forage, building materials, biofuels, textiles, paper, etc.), and within plants they contribute to structure, provide defense, and facilitate cellular communication. This study is focused on the <i>CELLULOSE SYNTHASELIKE A (CSLA)</i> family, members of which have been implicated in the synthesis of the backbone of mannan polysaccharides in plant cell walls. The Arabidopsis genome contains nine <i>CSLA</i> genes and we hypothesize that there is some degree of functional redundancy among these genes. A detailed investigation of transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring promoter-<i>GUS</i> fusions at various phases of growth and development was conducted to examine the expression patterns of all nine <i>CSLA</i> genes. The expression patterns observed were largely overlapping, supporting the functional redundancy hypothesis. Some unique exceptions were also documented, providing insights into possible focal regions for future mutational studies.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Skinner, Mary"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Marianne Laporte","Dr. Glenn Walker","Dr. James VandenBosch"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z","subjects":["plants","polysaccharides","arabidopsis","CSLA","Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/393","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Marianne Laporte","Dr. Glenn Walker","Dr. James VandenBosch"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Skinner, Mary"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-06-06T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["plants","polysaccharides","arabidopsis","CSLA","Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/393"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Plant cell walls are the most abundant source of renewable biomass on Earth. Cell wall carbohydrates have many practical applications (e.g., forage, building materials, biofuels, textiles, paper, etc.), and within plants they contribute to structure, provide defense, and facilitate cellular communication. This study is focused on the CELLULOSE SYNTHASELIKE A (CSLA) family, members of which have been implicated in the synthesis of the backbone of mannan polysaccharides in plant cell walls. The Arabidopsis genome contains nine CSLA genes and we hypothesize that there is some degree of functional redundancy among these genes. A detailed investigation of transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring promoter-GUS fusions at various phases of growth and development was conducted to examine the expression patterns of all nine CSLA genes. The expression patterns observed were largely overlapping, supporting the functional redundancy hypothesis. Some unique exceptions were also documented, providing insights into possible focal regions for future mutational studies.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Characterization of the expression patterns of CELLULOSE SYNTHASE-LIKE A (CSLA) genes in arabidopsis thaliana using reporter promoter-fusions and immunolocalization"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Marianne Laporte","Dr. Glenn Walker","Dr. James VandenBosch"],"dc:creator":["Skinner, Mary"],"dc:date.available":["2012-06-06T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Plant cell walls are the most abundant source of renewable biomass on Earth. Cell wall carbohydrates have many practical applications (e.g., forage, building materials, biofuels, textiles, paper, etc.), and within plants they contribute to structure, provide defense, and facilitate cellular communication. This study is focused on the CELLULOSE SYNTHASELIKE A (CSLA) family, members of which have been implicated in the synthesis of the backbone of mannan polysaccharides in plant cell walls. The Arabidopsis genome contains nine CSLA genes and we hypothesize that there is some degree of functional redundancy among these genes. A detailed investigation of transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring promoter-GUS fusions at various phases of growth and development was conducted to examine the expression patterns of all nine CSLA genes. The expression patterns observed were largely overlapping, supporting the functional redundancy hypothesis. Some unique exceptions were also documented, providing insights into possible focal regions for future mutational studies.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/393"],"dc:subject":["plants","polysaccharides","arabidopsis","CSLA","Biology"],"dc:title":["Characterization of the expression patterns of CELLULOSE SYNTHASE-LIKE A (CSLA) genes in arabidopsis thaliana using reporter promoter-fusions and immunolocalization"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:44Z"}