Abstract
Intercellular attachment is an essential process in the morphogenesis of multicellular organisms. Little is known about the biosynthesis and assembly of pectins in cell walls. nolac-H18 mutant, which is defective in intercellular attachment and in glucuronic acid of pectin, showed drastic reduction of the formation of borate cross-linking of rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II). The gene tagged with T-DNA, named NpGUT1 (pectin-glucuronyltransferase1), encodes a glucuronyltransferase and was predominantly expressed in apical meristems. Transcript levels of NpGUT1 during the cell cycle were examined with synchronized tobacco BY-2 suspension cultured cells. The accumulation of NpGUT1 mRNA showed a single peak in phase during the cell cycle. The dexamethasone-induced expression of the NpGUT1 antisense gene resulted in the aberration of cell shape and cell division. These results indicate that NpGUT1 is important for the cytokinesis and cell cycle.
