From cell wall architecture to wall modeling and back: a systems biology approach

A.M.C. Emons

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingAbstract

Abstract

Plants produce 180 billion tons of cellulose per year, which has enormous commercial value in, for instance, wood. Cellulose microfibrils are crystalline aggregates of linear polymers of Dglucopyranosyl residues, linked in the beta-(1,4) conformation. The architecture of microfibrils is cell type and developmental stage specific, and a determinant of mechanical wall properties. Using a systems biology approach, we have formulated a theory explaining how cells can determine microfibril angle. This fully mathematical developmental model quantitatively relates the deposition angle of CMFs to (1) the density of active synthases in the plasma membrane (N), (2) the distance between individual microfibrils within a wall lamella (d) and (3) the geometry of the cell (D). The model constructs all textures and predicts them, if [N], [d], and [D] are known. By predicting texture when a parameter is altered, the model is a design tool for production of plants with desirable traits
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAbstracts XVII International Botanical Congress, 17-23 July 2005, Vienna, Austria
Pages297
Publication statusPublished - 2005

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