The plant cell wall is very complex, both in structure and function. The wall components and the mechanical properties of the wall have been implicated in conveying information that is important for morphogenesis. Proteoglycans, fragments of polysaccharides and the structural integrity of the wall may relay signals that influence cellular differentiation and growth control. Furthering our knowl...

Pectins are complex polysaccharides that are essential components of the plant cell wall. In this study, a novel putative Arabidopsis S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase, termed QUASIMODO 3 (QUA3, At4g00740), has been characterized and it was demonstrated that it is a Golgi-localized, type II integral membrane protein that functions in methylesterification of the pectin ho...

Bioactive polymers mainly polysaccharides such as cellulose, chitin, amylose and beta-glucan are well discovered from various sources in nature. Amongst chitin, as the second most abundant polysaccharides after cellulose, is known as a highly insoluble polysaccharide consisting of β-4-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, which has been identified as a structural component of crustaceans, crabs, shrim...

The characterization of cell wall mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana, combined with biochemical approaches toward the purification and characterization of glycosyltransferases, has led to significant advances in understanding cell wall synthesis and the properties of cell walls. New insights have been gained into the formation of cellulose and the functions of the matrix polysaccharides rhamnogala...

Intrinsic characteristics of plant cell walls limiting susceptibility of structural carbohydrates to microbial attack in the ruminant's gastrointestinal tract are lignification of the cell wall, covalent bonding of phenolic acids to cell wall polysaccharides, the crystalline structure of cellulose and li mited fibrolytic enzyme accessible space. The exact mechanism by which or degree to which e...