ASGSB 1999 Annual Meeting Abstracts

XYLOGLUCAN ENDOTRANSGLYCOSYLASES OF ARABIDOPSIS: DIVERSITY OF GENES, EXPRESSION REGULATION AND FUNCTIONS. J.T.Becnel¹, P. Campbell², and J. Braam¹. ¹Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, and ²Present address, Botany Department, Duke University, Durham, NC.

TCH4 of Arabidopsis was isolated as a consequence of its strong and rapid induction of expression in touch-stimulated plants. TCH4 encodes a xyloglucan endotransglycosylase with the powerful potential to modify a major component of the plant cell wall. Xyloglucan endotransglycosylases cleave xyloglucan polymers internally and religate the newly generated, potentially reducing end, to other xyloglucan ends. Although this enzymatic function is well defined, the physiological consequences of this activity remains uncertain. The xyloglucan endotransglycosylases of Arabidopsis are encoded by a large gene family. We are investigating the diversity of these genes at the level of primary protein structure, gene expression regulation, differential isozyme activities and physiological consequences of loss of function.

(Supported by NSF IBN9418750)

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