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Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access originally published online on November 8, 2007
Plant and Cell Physiology 2007 48(12):1659-1672; doi:10.1093/pcp/pcm155
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Rapid Paper

The PARVUS Gene is Expressed in Cells Undergoing Secondary Wall Thickening and is Essential for Glucuronoxylan Biosynthesis

Chanhui Lee1, Ruiqin Zhong1, Elizabeth A. Richardson1, David S. Himmelsbach2, Brooks T. McPhail2 and Zheng-Hua Ye1,*

1 Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
2 Richard B. Russell Agriculture Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Athens, GA 30604, USA

*Corresponding author: E-mail, zhye{at}plantbio.uga.edu; Fax, +1-706-542-1805.


  Abstract

Xylan, cellulose and lignin are the three major components of secondary walls in wood, and elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway of xylan is of importance for potential modification of secondary wall composition to produce wood with improved properties. So far, three Arabidopsis glycosyltransferases, FRAGILE FIBER8, IRREGULAR XYLEM8 and IRREGULAR XYLEM9, have been implicated in glucuronoxylan (GX) biosynthesis. In this study, we demonstrate that PARVUS, which is a member of family GT8, is required for the biosynthesis of the tetrasaccharide primer sequence, β-D-Xyl-(1 -> 3)-{alpha}-L-Rha-(1 -> 2)-{alpha}-D-GalA-(1 -> 4)-D-Xyl, located at the reducing end of GX. The PARVUS gene is expressed during secondary wall biosynthesis in fibers and vessels, and its encoded protein is predominantly localized in the endoplasmic reticulum. Mutation of the PARVUS gene leads to a drastic reduction in secondary wall thickening and GX content. Structural analysis of GX using 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy revealed that the parvus mutation causes a loss of the tetrasaccharide primer sequence at the reducing end of GX and an absence of glucuronic acid side chains in GX. Activity assay showed that the xylan xylosyltransferase and glucuronyltransferase activities were not affected in the parvus mutant. Together, these findings implicate a possible role for PARVUS in the initiation of biosynthesis of the GX tetrasaccharide primer sequence and provide novel insights into the mechanisms of GX biosynthesis.

Keywords: Arabidopsis - Glucuronoxylan biosynthesis - Glycosyltransferase - PARVUS - Secondary wall biosynthesis

Abbreviations: CFP, cyan fluorescent protein; DTT, dithiothreitol; ER, endoplasmic reticulum; fra8, fragile fiber8; GalA, galacturonic acid; GlcA, glucuronic acid; GlcAT, glucuronyltransferase; GT, glycosyltransferase; GX, glucuronoxylan; irx8, irregular xylem8; irx9, irregular xylem9; MALDI-TOF MS, matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry; MeGlcA, 4-O-methyl-glucuronic acid; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; YFP, yellow fluorescent protein; Xyl, xylose; XylT, xylosyltransferase.

(Received October 24, 2007; Accepted November 5, 2007)
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