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Science 26 October 2001:
Vol. 294. no. 5543, p. 741
DOI: 10.1126/science.294.5543.741i
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Plant cell walls are complex mixtures of complex carbohydrates as well as multiple other components. As the plant grows and develops, its cell walls must be altered in order to accommodate changes in cell shapes. O'Neill et al. (p. 846; see the Perspective by Höfte) now show, through biochemical analysis and study of mutant versions of Arabidopsis, that disruptions in the structure of rhamnogalacturonan pectins and their borate-mediated dimerization in the cell wall have striking effects on the plant's growth. Thus, the pectins, as well as the better understood cellulose fibrils, are both critical to cell wall function.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)