Abstract
Liquid fuels derived from cellulosic biomass is one of the candidates of alternative to conventional fossil fuel source. However, cell walls, which consist of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and lignin, are locked in complex polymers. In particular, pectin might be a barrier for enzymatic saccaharification of cellulosic ethanol, because pectin degradation treatments are effective in ethanol production process. Compared with the pectin-abundant dicotylednous cell wall (40%), the cell wall of rice contains less pectin (10%). Therefore, pectin was thought to be less important for the growth and development in rice. To understand the function of pectin in the development of rice, we analyzed the polygalacturonase over-expressed rice driven by maize ubiqutin promoter. Overexpression of PG caused the reduction of pectin content and alteration of sugar composition. These results suggest that pectin might be important for the normal development and the property of cell wall in rice.
