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Arabidopsis Plants Expressing a Fungal Pectin Methylesterase Enzyme Have Reduced Degree of Polysaccharide Methylation and Exhibit a Dwarfed Phenotype and Resistance to Stresses
Author(s) -
Chambers Lauran,
Zabotina Olga,
Reem Nathan,
Abdullah Siti Farah
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.954.4
Subject(s) - biology , pectin , cell wall , arabidopsis , botany , abiotic component , arabidopsis thaliana , pectin lyase , plant physiology , dwarfism , enzyme , pectinase , biochemistry , mutant , gene , ecology
Pectin is a major component of the plant cell wall and is involved in functions including growth of the plant cell, organ development, and defense against pathogens. Our lab has developed a suite of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing microbial‐derived cell wall‐degrading enzymes to study Cell Wall Integrity (CWI) responses. Plants expressing one such enzyme, A. nidulans Pectin Methylesterase (AnPME), exhibit dwarfism beginning with emergence of the first true leaves and affecting all specialized organs and structures throughout their lifetime. These plants also possess reduced sensitivity to salt stress; while roots of AnPME plants are much smaller than wild‐type roots under unstressed conditions, root growth was not inhibited by 100 mM NaCl treatment. Preliminary results have also shown that AnPME plants are less susceptible to infection by the cyst‐forming nematode H. schaachtii . Ongoing research aims to quantify the degree of cell wall de‐methylesterification to correlate with degree of dwarfism, and further confirm resistance of roots to nematode penetration. These results illustrate the importance of pectin methylesterification status in plant fitness and development, as well as response to both biotic and abiotic stresses, most likely through CWI response. Support or Funding Information Linder Family Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Rob Stupka Memorial Scholarship