Oxidized cellulose binding to allergens with a carbohydrate-binding module attenuates allergic reactions.

Grass and mite allergens are of the main causes of allergy and asthma. A carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) represents a common motif to groups I (β-expansin) and II/III (expansin-like) grass allergens and is suggested to mediate allergen-IgE binding. House dust mite group II allergen (Der p 2 and Der f 2) structures bear strong similarity to expansin's CBM, suggesting their ability to bind carbohydrates.

Loosening xyloglucan accelerates the enzymatic degradation of cellulose in wood.

In order to create trees in which cellulose, the most abundant component in biomass, can be enzymatically hydrolyzed highly for the production of bioethanol, we examined the saccharification of xylem from several transgenic poplars, each overexpressing either xyloglucanase, cellulase, xylanase, or galactanase. The level of cellulose degradation achieved by a cellulase preparation was markedly greater in the xylem overexpressing xyloglucanase and much greater in the xylems overexpressing xylanase and cellulase than in the xylem of the wild-type plant. Although a high degree of degradation occurred in all xylems at all loci, the crystalline region of the cellulose microfibrils was highly degraded in the xylem overexpressing xyloglucanase.

Xyloglucan for generating tensile stress to bend tree stem.

In response to environmental variation, angiosperm trees bend their stems by forming tension wood, which consists of a cellulose-rich G (gelatinous)-layer in the walls of fiber cells and generates abnormal tensile stress in the secondary xylem. We produced transgenic poplar plants overexpressing several endoglycanases to reduce each specific polysaccharide in the cell wall, as the secondary xylem consists of primary and secondary wall layers. When placed horizontally, the basal regions of stems of transgenic poplars overexpressing xyloglucanase alone could not bend upward due to low strain in the tension side of the xylem.

Expression and Regulation of the Arabidopsis thaliana Cel1 Endo 1,4 beta Glucanase Gene During Compatible Plant-Nematode Interactions.

The root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita is an obligate endoparasite of plant roots and stimulates elaborate modifications of selected root vascular cells to form giant cells for feeding. An Arabidopsis thaliana endoglucanase (Atcel1) promoter is activated in giant cells that were formed in Atcel1::UidA transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis plants. Activity of the full-length Atcel1 promoter was detected in root and shoot elongation zones and in the lateral root primordia.

Carbohydrate binding modules: biochemical properties and novel applications.

Polysaccharide-degrading microorganisms express a repertoire of hydrolytic enzymes that act in synergy on plant cell wall and other natural polysaccharides to elicit the degradation of often-recalcitrant substrates. These enzymes, particularly those that hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose, have a complex molecular architecture comprising discrete modules which are normally joined by relatively unstructured linker sequences. This structure is typically comprised of a catalytic module and one or more carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) that bind to the polysaccharide.

Expression of endo-1,4-beta-glucanase (cel1) in Arabidopsis thaliana is associated with plant growth, xylem development and cell wall thickening.

Arabidopsis thaliana CEL1 protein was detected in young expanding tissues. Immunostaining revealed that CEL1 accumulated mostly in xylem cells. The primary, as well as the secondary xylem showed considerable CEL1 staining.

The promoter of the Arabidopsis thaliana Cel1 endo-1,4-beta glucanase gene is differentially expressed in plant feeding cells induced by root-knot and cyst nematodes.

SUMMARY Transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana carrying the Arabidopsis endo-1,4-beta-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.

Abnormal 'wrinkled' cell walls and retarded development of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing endo-1,4-beta-glucanase (cell) antisense.

Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing cel1 antisense exhibit reduced levels of cel1 mRNA and protein compared with wild-type plants. The former display significant alterations in their phenotype. cel1 antisense plants have shorter stems and roots and are mechanically weaker than their wild-type counterparts.

Modification of polysaccharides and plant cell wall by endo-1,4-beta-glucanase and cellulose-binding domains.

Cellulose is one of the most abundant polymers in nature. Different living systems evolved simultaneously, using structurally similar proteins to synthesize and metabolize polysaccharides. In the growing plant, cell wall loosening, together with cellulose biosynthesis, enables turgor-driven cell expansion.