Transgenic aspen plants (Populus tremula) with the expression of recombinant xyloglucanase sp-Xeg show an increased growth rate, altered composition and properties of wood, and the phenotype of the plant as a whole
Wood formation is an extremely complex process, controlled by more than 40,000 genes.At the cellular level, wood is nothing but lignified cell walls that constructed from three main structural biopolymers - cellulose, hemicellulose and lignins. The main component of hemicellulose is xyloglucans, which form short cross-links between long cellulose filaments. The more stitches, the lower the elasticity of the cell wall. Scientists from the Group of Forest Biotechnology together with russian and foreign colleages suggested that partial, rather than excessive, hydrolysis of xyloglucans may affect the elasticity of the cell wall, and indirectly the growth rate of the tree. In transgenic models of aspen, they have shown that superexpression of recombinant xyloglucanase from the fungus P.canescens leads not only to hydrolysis of cell wall xyloglucans, but also is accompanied by a complex of changes in the phenotype: the content of cellulose in wood is increased, the carbohydrate composition of wood are changed, as a result, the wood began to decompose more slowly. The work is published in BMC Plant Biology. Learn more
june 8, 2020