JIPB
Journal of Integrative Plant Biology
Free Access
Editorial
The plant cell wall Research on the many aspects of the plant cell wall has experienced rejuvenation during the past few years. This is perhaps mainly due to the commercial interest in the chemical components of the cell wall that have potential for industrial use: Cellulose for fibers and together with hemicelluloses for bioethanol, lignin for plastics or biofuel, pectins as gel agents, let alone woody cell wall material for construction or pulp production and for intelligent materials for electronics – the new uses are mindboggling! As cell wall materials are the hype of the time, pressure on the basic knowledge of the cell wall materials is increasing. This emphasizes basic research results that can be used, for example, in bioenergy applications, in the production of synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers, and in new carbon fibers or even as polymers with altogether new and intelligent properties. Without the fundamental information on the structure and functions of the cell wall components, it is not possible to invent ingenious new uses for this old material. Wood cell walls contain lignin, a phenolic polymer, up to approximately 32% of cell wall dry material. Lignin is, after cellulose, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, and it plays a crucial role for structural integrity of cell walls and for stiffness and strength of the plant body. The biosynthetic route for monolignols is well known but their transport into the cell wall and polymerization in vivo are not that clear, and hence, the research efforts on the laccases and peroxidases functioning in the formation of lignin polymer are presented in this special issue in the articles by Koutaniemi et al. (2015) on laccases in lignin-forming tissues of Norway spruce and by Shigeto et al. (2015) on the effect of peroxidase double mutants on lignin contents in Arabidopsis. Plant cell walls have also admirable plasticity. This is made evident in the lida et al. (2015) on two articles in this special issue by Me ‘Ectopic lignification in primary cellulose-deficient cell walls of maize cell suspension cultures’, and by de Castro et al. (2015) in their article titled ‘The biosynthesis and wall-binding of hemicelluloses in cellulose-deficient maize cells: An example of metabolic plasticity’. Wood formation is an important process with both biological and economical aspects. Trees and wood are of considerable importance in many countries where a large part of the gross national income comes from the forest sector. To be able to produce wood products with targeted characteristics, we need more information on the basic structures in the xylem cell walls and on the biosynthesis of their components. This information is vital for directed changes in these structures through conventional breeding methods and through genetic modification with potential high economic impact. The article by Andersson et al. (2015) concentrates on changes in the cell wall structures in compression wood, i.e. wood that forms in leaning stems of gymnosperms, and alters the properties of sawn timber – not always for the best! Hence, it is important to know what has happened in the microstructure of wood and how this could be remedied or – on the other hand – made better use of. Furthermore, the paper of Andersson et al. (2015) is interesting in an April 2015 | Volume 57 | Issue 4 | 328–329
evolutionary point of view, as the studied species, Gingko biloba, can be described as a living fossil. The biosynthesis of the many cell wall polymers is fascinating but there is still room for more knowledge, especially on the regulation of the synthetic processes. This research area is reviewed by Liu et al. (2015) in their article titled ‘The connection of cytoskeletal network with plasma membrane and the cell wall’. Cell wall is also known to be modified during and after its formation. Glass et al. (2015) report in their article that endoglucanases can have an impact on cellulose crystallization; the changes in this can lead into considerable changes even in the morphology of Arabidopsis plants. High-throughput techniques, such as that described by Frankova and Fry (2015) for transglycanases, will reveal novel enzyme activities that contribute to cell wall assembly and/or restructuring during plant development. As the sequencing of whole plant genomes is getting more and more common, the use of genetic and bioinformatics analyses have given new ideas and reveal new possibilities in the use of plant material and breeding of new crop varieties. This kind of information is made use of in the article by Ermawar et al. (2015) on the biosynthetic gene families in sorghum for (1,3;1,4)-b-glucan, important in human health, animal feed and biofuel applications. As cell wall related issues are very important in fundamental biological understanding of plant development, new articles on the plant cell wall are emerging daily. The articles presented here in this issue give a glimpse into some of the vital compounds in the making of a functional and versatile plant cell wall. Professor Kurt Fagerstedt Department of Biosciences Division of Plant Biology University of Helsinki, Finland Dr. Anna K€ark€ onen Department of Agricultural Sciences University of Helsinki, Finland doi: 10.1111/jipb.12351 © 2015 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
REFERENCES Andersson S, Wang Y, P€ onni R, H€anninen T, Mononen M, Ren H, Serimaa R, Saranp€a€a P (2015) Cellulose structure and lignin distribution in normal and compression wood of Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba L.). J Integr Plant Biol 57: 388–395 de Castro M, Miller JG, Acebes JL, Encina A, Garcıa-Angulo P, Fry SC (2015) The biosynthesis and wall-binding of hemicelluloses in cellulose-deficient maize cells: An example of metabolic plasticity. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 373–387 Ermawar RA, Collins HM, Byrt CS, Betts NS, Henderson M, Shirley NJ, Schwerdt J, Lahnstein J, Fincher GB, Burton RA (2015) Distribution, structure and biosynthetic gene families of
www.jipb.net
Editorial (1,3;1,4)-b-glucan in Sorghum bicolor. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 429– 445 Frankova L, Fry SC (2015) A general method for assaying homo- and hetero-transglycanase activities that act on plant cell-wall polysaccharides. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 411–428 Glass M, Barkwill S, Unda F, Mansfield SD (2015) Endo-b-1,4-glucanases impact plant cell wall development by influencing cellulose crystallization. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 396–410 Liu Z, Persson S, Zhang Y (2015) The connection of cytoskeletal network with plasma membrane and the cell wall. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 330–340
www.jipb.net
329
Koutaniemi S, Malmberg HA, Simola LK, Teeri TH, K€ ark€ onen A (2015) Norway spruce (Picea abies) laccases: Characterisation of a laccase in a lignin-forming tissue culture. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 341–348 M elida H, Largo-Gosens A, Novo-Uzal E, Santiago R, Pomar F, Garcıa P, Garcıa-Angulo P, Acebes JL, Alvarez J, Encina A (2015) Ectopic lignification in primary cellulose-deficient cell walls of maize cell suspension cultures. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 357–372 Shigeto J, Itoh Y, Hirao S, Ohira K, Fujita K, Tsutsumi Y (2015) Simultaneously disrupting AtPrx2, AtPrx25 and AtPrx71 alters lignin content and structure in Arabidopsis stem. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 349–356
April 2015 | Volume 57 | Issue 4 | 328–329
Copyright of Journal of Integrative Plant Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Journal of Integrative Plant Biology
Free Access
Editorial
The plant cell wall Research on the many aspects of the plant cell wall has experienced rejuvenation during the past few years. This is perhaps mainly due to the commercial interest in the chemical components of the cell wall that have potential for industrial use: Cellulose for fibers and together with hemicelluloses for bioethanol, lignin for plastics or biofuel, pectins as gel agents, let alone woody cell wall material for construction or pulp production and for intelligent materials for electronics – the new uses are mindboggling! As cell wall materials are the hype of the time, pressure on the basic knowledge of the cell wall materials is increasing. This emphasizes basic research results that can be used, for example, in bioenergy applications, in the production of synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers, and in new carbon fibers or even as polymers with altogether new and intelligent properties. Without the fundamental information on the structure and functions of the cell wall components, it is not possible to invent ingenious new uses for this old material. Wood cell walls contain lignin, a phenolic polymer, up to approximately 32% of cell wall dry material. Lignin is, after cellulose, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, and it plays a crucial role for structural integrity of cell walls and for stiffness and strength of the plant body. The biosynthetic route for monolignols is well known but their transport into the cell wall and polymerization in vivo are not that clear, and hence, the research efforts on the laccases and peroxidases functioning in the formation of lignin polymer are presented in this special issue in the articles by Koutaniemi et al. (2015) on laccases in lignin-forming tissues of Norway spruce and by Shigeto et al. (2015) on the effect of peroxidase double mutants on lignin contents in Arabidopsis. Plant cell walls have also admirable plasticity. This is made evident in the lida et al. (2015) on two articles in this special issue by Me ‘Ectopic lignification in primary cellulose-deficient cell walls of maize cell suspension cultures’, and by de Castro et al. (2015) in their article titled ‘The biosynthesis and wall-binding of hemicelluloses in cellulose-deficient maize cells: An example of metabolic plasticity’. Wood formation is an important process with both biological and economical aspects. Trees and wood are of considerable importance in many countries where a large part of the gross national income comes from the forest sector. To be able to produce wood products with targeted characteristics, we need more information on the basic structures in the xylem cell walls and on the biosynthesis of their components. This information is vital for directed changes in these structures through conventional breeding methods and through genetic modification with potential high economic impact. The article by Andersson et al. (2015) concentrates on changes in the cell wall structures in compression wood, i.e. wood that forms in leaning stems of gymnosperms, and alters the properties of sawn timber – not always for the best! Hence, it is important to know what has happened in the microstructure of wood and how this could be remedied or – on the other hand – made better use of. Furthermore, the paper of Andersson et al. (2015) is interesting in an April 2015 | Volume 57 | Issue 4 | 328–329
evolutionary point of view, as the studied species, Gingko biloba, can be described as a living fossil. The biosynthesis of the many cell wall polymers is fascinating but there is still room for more knowledge, especially on the regulation of the synthetic processes. This research area is reviewed by Liu et al. (2015) in their article titled ‘The connection of cytoskeletal network with plasma membrane and the cell wall’. Cell wall is also known to be modified during and after its formation. Glass et al. (2015) report in their article that endoglucanases can have an impact on cellulose crystallization; the changes in this can lead into considerable changes even in the morphology of Arabidopsis plants. High-throughput techniques, such as that described by Frankova and Fry (2015) for transglycanases, will reveal novel enzyme activities that contribute to cell wall assembly and/or restructuring during plant development. As the sequencing of whole plant genomes is getting more and more common, the use of genetic and bioinformatics analyses have given new ideas and reveal new possibilities in the use of plant material and breeding of new crop varieties. This kind of information is made use of in the article by Ermawar et al. (2015) on the biosynthetic gene families in sorghum for (1,3;1,4)-b-glucan, important in human health, animal feed and biofuel applications. As cell wall related issues are very important in fundamental biological understanding of plant development, new articles on the plant cell wall are emerging daily. The articles presented here in this issue give a glimpse into some of the vital compounds in the making of a functional and versatile plant cell wall. Professor Kurt Fagerstedt Department of Biosciences Division of Plant Biology University of Helsinki, Finland Dr. Anna K€ark€ onen Department of Agricultural Sciences University of Helsinki, Finland doi: 10.1111/jipb.12351 © 2015 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
REFERENCES Andersson S, Wang Y, P€ onni R, H€anninen T, Mononen M, Ren H, Serimaa R, Saranp€a€a P (2015) Cellulose structure and lignin distribution in normal and compression wood of Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba L.). J Integr Plant Biol 57: 388–395 de Castro M, Miller JG, Acebes JL, Encina A, Garcıa-Angulo P, Fry SC (2015) The biosynthesis and wall-binding of hemicelluloses in cellulose-deficient maize cells: An example of metabolic plasticity. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 373–387 Ermawar RA, Collins HM, Byrt CS, Betts NS, Henderson M, Shirley NJ, Schwerdt J, Lahnstein J, Fincher GB, Burton RA (2015) Distribution, structure and biosynthetic gene families of
www.jipb.net
Editorial (1,3;1,4)-b-glucan in Sorghum bicolor. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 429– 445 Frankova L, Fry SC (2015) A general method for assaying homo- and hetero-transglycanase activities that act on plant cell-wall polysaccharides. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 411–428 Glass M, Barkwill S, Unda F, Mansfield SD (2015) Endo-b-1,4-glucanases impact plant cell wall development by influencing cellulose crystallization. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 396–410 Liu Z, Persson S, Zhang Y (2015) The connection of cytoskeletal network with plasma membrane and the cell wall. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 330–340
www.jipb.net
329
Koutaniemi S, Malmberg HA, Simola LK, Teeri TH, K€ ark€ onen A (2015) Norway spruce (Picea abies) laccases: Characterisation of a laccase in a lignin-forming tissue culture. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 341–348 M elida H, Largo-Gosens A, Novo-Uzal E, Santiago R, Pomar F, Garcıa P, Garcıa-Angulo P, Acebes JL, Alvarez J, Encina A (2015) Ectopic lignification in primary cellulose-deficient cell walls of maize cell suspension cultures. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 357–372 Shigeto J, Itoh Y, Hirao S, Ohira K, Fujita K, Tsutsumi Y (2015) Simultaneously disrupting AtPrx2, AtPrx25 and AtPrx71 alters lignin content and structure in Arabidopsis stem. J Integr Plant Biol 57: 349–356
April 2015 | Volume 57 | Issue 4 | 328–329
Copyright of Journal of Integrative Plant Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
