Caffeoyl coenzyme A O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) has recently been shown to participate in lignin biosynthesis in herbacious tobacco plants. Here, we demonstrate that CCoAOMT is essential in lignin biosynthesis in woody poplar (Populus tremula ϫ Populus alba) plants. In poplar stems, CCoAOMT was found to be expressed in all lignifying cells including vessel elements and fibers as well as in xylem ray parenchyma cells. Repression of CCoAOMT expression by the antisense approach in transgenic poplar plants caused a significant decrease in total lignin content as detected by both Klason lignin assay and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The reduction in lignin content was the result of a decrease in both guaiacyl and syringyl lignins as determined by in-source pyrolysis mass spectrometry. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that the reduction in lignin content resulted in a less condensed and less cross-linked lignin structure in wood. Repression of CCoAOMT expression also led to coloration of wood and an elevation of wall-bound p-hydroxybenzoic acid. Taken together, these results indicate that CCoAOMT plays a dominant role in the methylation of the 3-hydroxyl group of caffeoyl CoA, and the CCoAOMT-mediated methylation reaction is essential to channel substrates for 5-methoxylation of hydroxycinnamates. They also suggest that antisense repression of CCoAOMT is an efficient means for genetic engineering of trees with low lignin content.

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, beta-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 (1)H-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.

No abstract

Abstract.We have investigated the abilities of extracellular enzymes from dark-grown cell-suspension cultures of sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) to oxidize monolignols, the precursors for lignin biosynthesis in plants, as well as a variety of other lignin-related compounds. Laccase and peroxidase both exist as a multiplicity of isoenzymes in filtrates of spent culture medium, but their abilities to produce water-insoluble, dehydrogenation polymers (DHPs) from the monolignols (in the presence of hydrogen peroxide for the peroxidase reaction) appear identical whether or not the enzymes are purified from the concentrated filtrates or left in a crude mixture. The patterns of bonds formed in these DHPs are identical to those found in DHPs synthesized using horseradish peroxidase or fungal laccase, and many of these bonds are found in the natural lignins extracted from different plant sources. On the other hand, sycamore maple laccase is very much less active on phenolic substrates containing multiple aromatic rings than is sycamore maple peroxidase. We suggst that whereas laccase may function during the early stages of lignification to polymerize monolignols into oligo-lignols, cell-wall peroxidases may function when H202 is produced during the later stages of xylem cell development or in response to environmental stresses.

A novel approach, utilizing a two-dimensional (2D) statistical correlation of mid- and near-infrared spectra, is presented as a means to assist with qualitative spectral interpretation. The method utilizes cross-correlation by least-squares to assess changes in both regions that result from changes in sample composition. The technique has been applied to complex agricultural samples that differ in wax (cuticle), carbohydrate, protein, and lignin content. Dispersive near-infrared (NIR) and interferometric mid-infrared (FT-IR) diffuse reflectance spectra were obtained on each of the samples, and point-for-point 2D cross-correlation was obtained. The technique permits the correlation of the combination and overtone region of the NIR to the fundamental vibrations in the mid-infrared (MIR) region. This allows the determination of the most probable source of NIR signals and verification of the “real” information content of the purely statistically derived signals whose intensities currently are used for quantitative analysis in this spectral region.

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopic mapping was investigated as a tool to study the effects of enzymatic retting of¯ax stems. The FT-IR technique permitted the elucidation of the relative loss or changes in the distribution of key chemical components after treatment with enzymes or enzyme/chelator mixtures in association with visible changes in structure. Cross-sections of Ariane¯ax stems were treated with SP 249 (a pectinase-rich enzyme mixture from Novo Nordisk) at 0.5, 0.7 or 1.0 ml l À1 concentration in pH 5 acetate buffer for 6 h at 40°C. Flax stems treated with 0.5 or 0.7 ml l À1 SP 249 and 50 mM oxalic acid as a chelator were also investigated by the technique. The results indicated that treatment with 0.5 ml l À1 SP 249 alone was ineffective in releasing the ®bre bundles from the surrounding tissue, but the release was increased by the addition of 50 mM oxalic acid as a likely chelator for the cations of pectate salts. However, the IR spectra of the bundles indicated that an insoluble oxalate salt remained on the tissue after this treatment. Increasing the concentration of SP 249 to 0.7 ml l À1 plus 50 mM oxalic acid was effective in releasing the ®bre bundles and generating some ultimate ®bres with no detectable oxalate expectate salt residues. Increasing the SP 249 concentration to 1.0 ml l À1 without using oxalic acid was effective in separating the ®bre bundles into ultimate (individual) ®bres, leaving no pectate salt residue and only a trace of pectic esters and/or acids. The use of infrared mapping, or so-called chemical imaging, is shown to have advantages over visible imaging alone in that it can detect and locate the chemical species present after each treatment in relation to the anatomical features of the¯ax stem. This analytical tool shows promise as a technique by which to study the effects of enzymatic treatment of natural ®bre materials. Published in

No abstract

No abstract