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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Cell wall-related proteins of unknown function: Missing links in plant cell wall development
Plant and Cell Physiology, Volume 55, No. 6, Year 2014
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Description
Lignocellulosic biomass is an important feedstock for the pulp and paper industry as well as emerging biofuel and biomaterial industries. However, the recalcitrance of the secondary cell wall to chemical or enzymatic degradation remains a major hurdle for efficient extraction of economically important biopolymers such as cellulose. It has been estimated that approximately 10-15% of about 27,000 protein-coding genes in the Arabidopsis genome are dedicated to cell wall development; however, only about 130 Arabidopsis genes thus far have experimental evidence validating cell wall function. While many genes have been implicated through co-expression analysis with known genes, a large number are broadly classified as proteins of unknown function (PUFs). Recently the functionality of some of these unknown proteins in cell wall development has been revealed using reverse genetic approaches. Given the large number of cell wall-related PUFs, how do we approach and subsequently prioritize the investigation of such unknown genes that may be essential to or influence plant cell wall development and structure? Here, we address the aforementioned question in two parts; we first identify the different kinds of PUFs based on known and predicted features such as protein domains. Knowledge of inherent features of PUFs may allow for functional inference and a concomitant link to biological context. Secondly, we discuss omics-based technologies and approaches that are helping identify and prioritize cell wall-related PUFs by functional association. In this way, hypothesis-driven experiments can be designed for functional elucidation of many proteins that remain missing links in our understanding of plant cell wall biosynthesis. © 2014 The Author.
Authors & Co-Authors
Mewalal, Ritesh
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Mizrachi, Eshchar
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Mansfield, Shawn D.
Canada, Vancouver
The University of British Columbia
Myburg, Alexander Andrew
South Africa, Pretoria
University of Pretoria
Statistics
Citations: 29
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1093/pcp/pcu050
ISSN:
00320781
e-ISSN:
14719053
Research Areas
Genetics And Genomics