Pectin: New insights from an old polymer through pectinase-based genetic screens
type: CreativeWork
description: Pectic polysaccharides, a class of plant cell wall polymers, form one of the most complex networks known in nature. Despite their complex structure and their importance in plant biology, little is known about the molecular mechanism of their biosynthesis, modification, and turnover, particularly their structure-function relationship. One way to gain insight into pectin metabolism is the identification of mutants with an altered pectin structure. Those were obtained by a recently developed pectinase-based genetic screen. Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings grown in liquid medium containing pectinase solutions exhibited particular phenotypes: they were dwarfed and slightly chlorotic. However, when genetically different A. thaliana seed populations (random T-DNA insertional populations as well as EMS-mutagenized populations and natural variations) were subjected to this treatment, individuals were identified that exhibit a different visible phenotype compared to wild type or other ecotypes and may thus contain a different pectin structure (pec-mutants). After confirming that the altered phenotype occurs only when the pectinase is present, the EMS mutants were subjected to a detailed cell wall analysis with particular emphasis on pectins. This suite of mutants identified in this study is a valuable resource for further analysis on how the pectin network is regulated, synthesized and modified. Flanking sequences of some of the T-DNA lines have pointed toward several interesting genes, one of which is PEC100. This gene encodes a putative sugar transporter gene, which, based on our data, is implicated in rhamnogalacturonan-I synthesis. The subcellular localization of PEC100 was studied by GFP fusion and this protein was found to be localized to the Golgi apparatus, the organelle where pectin biosynthesis occurs. Arabidopsis ecotype C24 was identified as a susceptible one when grown with pectinases in liquid culture and had a different oligogalacturonide mass profile when compar…
abstract: Pectic polysaccharides, a class of plant cell wall polymers, form one of the most complex networks known in nature. Despite their complex structure and their importance in plant biology, little is known about the molecular mechanism of their biosynthesis, modification, and turnover, particularly their structure-function relationship. One way to gain insight into pectin metabolism is the identification of mutants with an altered pectin structure. Those were obtained by a recently developed pectinase-based genetic screen. Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings grown in liquid medium containing pectinase solutions exhibited particular phenotypes: they were dwarfed and slightly chlorotic. However, when genetically different A. thaliana seed populations (random T-DNA insertional populations as well as EMS-mutagenized populations and natural variations) were subjected to this treatment, individuals were identified that exhibit a different visible phenotype compared to wild type or other ecotypes and may thus contain a different pectin structure (pec-mutants). After confirming that the altered phenotype occurs only when the pectinase is present, the EMS mutants were subjected to a detailed cell wall analysis with particular emphasis on pectins. This suite of mutants identified in this study is a valuable resource for further analysis on how the pectin network is regulated, synthesized and modified. Flanking sequences of some of the T-DNA lines have pointed toward several interesting genes, one of which is PEC100. This gene encodes a putative sugar transporter gene, which, based on our data, is implicated in rhamnogalacturonan-I synthesis. The subcellular localization of PEC100 was studied by GFP fusion and this protein was found to be localized to the Golgi apparatus, the organelle where pectin biosynthesis occurs. Arabidopsis ecotype C24 was identified as a susceptible one when grown with pectinases in liquid culture and had a different oligogalacturonide mass profile when compar…
author: Nikolovski, Nino
keywords: Pektin, Pektinase, genetischer Screen, Arabidopsis thaliana, Zellwand, pectin, pectinase, genetic screen, cell wall
date published: 2009-09-02
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:51:27Z
provider: Universität Potsdam - Diss
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Universität Potsdam