Sitosterol-β-glucoside as primer for cellulose synthesis in plants

Liangcai Peng, Yasushi Kawagoe, Pat Hogan, Deborah Delmer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

339 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cellulose synthesis in plants requires β-1,4-glucan chain initiation, elongation, and termination. The process of chain elongation is likely to be distinct from the process of chain initiation. We demonstrate that a CesA glucosyltransferase initiates glucan polymerization by using sitosterol-β-glucoside (SG) as primer. Cotton fiber membranes synthesize sitosterol-cellodextrins (SCDs) from SG and uridine 5′-diphosphate-glucose (UDP-Glc) under conditions that also favor cellulose synthesis. The cellulase encoded by the Korrigan (Kor) gene, required for cellulose synthesis in plants, may function to cleave SG from the growing polymer chain.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)147-150
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume295
Issue number5552
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Jan 2002
Externally publishedYes

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