Abstract
Polysaccharide-linked hydroxycinnamoyl esters (PHEs) can form covalent ester-ether bridges between lignin units and polysaccharides to provide additional cross-linking within cell walls of gramineous plants. These covalent cross-links are important for the mechanical support of aerial parts and also in the resistance to compressive gravitational forces; they contribute to the termination of wall extensibility, to the strengthening of cell walls, and to prevention of the entry of pathogens into cells. Details of the biosynthesis of PHEs and the molecular mechanisms responsible for the temporal and spatial control of the biosynthesis of PHEs remain unclear. In this study, as a part of program characterizing the biosynthetic regulation of plant cell wall component, we examined the polysaccharide-linked hydroxycinnamoyl esters biosynthetic pathway and its molecular mechanism of genetic regulation in rice plant using rice one gene recessive mutant, Fukei 71.
