Disruption of a DUF247 Containing Protein Alters Cell Wall Polysaccharides and Reduces Growth in <i>Arabidopsis</i>
Pitchaporn Wannitikul,
Pakorn Wattana-Amorn,
Sukhita Sathitnaitham,
Jenjira Sakulkoo,
Anongpat Suttangkakul,
Passorn Wonnapinij,
George W. Bassel,
Rachael Simister,
Leonardo D. Gomez,
Supachai Vuttipongchaikij
Affiliations
Pitchaporn Wannitikul
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Pakorn Wattana-Amorn
Special Research Unit for Advanced Magnetic Resonance and Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Sukhita Sathitnaitham
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Jenjira Sakulkoo
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Anongpat Suttangkakul
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Passorn Wonnapinij
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
George W. Bassel
School of Life Sciences, The University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
Rachael Simister
CNAP, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
Leonardo D. Gomez
CNAP, Department of Biology, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD, UK
Supachai Vuttipongchaikij
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chattuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Plant cell wall biosynthesis is a complex process that requires proteins and enzymes from glycan synthesis to wall assembly. We show that disruption of At3g50120 (DUF247-1), a member of the DUF247 multigene family containing 28 genes in Arabidopsis, results in alterations to the structure and composition of cell wall polysaccharides and reduced growth and plant size. An ELISA using cell wall antibodies shows that the mutants also exhibit ~50% reductions in xyloglucan (XyG), glucuronoxylan (GX) and heteromannan (HM) epitopes in the NaOH fraction and ~50% increases in homogalacturonan (HG) epitopes in the CDTA fraction. Furthermore, the polymer sizes of XyGs and GXs are reduced with concomitant increases in short-chain polymers, while those of HGs and mHGs are slightly increased. Complementation using 35S:DUF247-1 partially recovers the XyG and HG content, but not those of GX and HM, suggesting that DUF247-1 is more closely associated with XyGs and HGs. DUF247-1 is expressed throughout Arabidopsis, particularly in vascular and developing tissues, and its disruption affects the expression of other gene members, indicating a regulatory control role within the gene family. Our results demonstrate that DUF247-1 is required for normal cell wall composition and structure and Arabidopsis growth.