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Elucidating the function of arabinogalactan proteins during wood formation

University of British Columbia

Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) are cell wall proteins with abundant glycosylation, belonging to the large, multi-gene hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein (HRGP) family. It has been reported that AGPs may contribute to cell expansion, xylem cell differentiation and secondary cell wall deposition. However, the roles of specific AGP in wood developmental processes have never been thoroughly elucidated. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to investigate the functional role(s) of three AGPs in wood cell wall development. Specifically, the lysine-rich AGP18; a classical AGP, AGP9; and an AGP peptide, AGP14 were studied, because they demonstrated high gene expression levels in the developing xylem of Populus trichocarpa during transcriptome re-sequencing initiatives. Based on the phenotypic changes observed when PtAGP18 was down-regulated in transgenic poplar trees and Arabidopsis atagp18 T-DNA mutant analyses, I showed roles for AGP18 in fiber cell shape and fiber secondary cell wall formation (Chapter 2). Moreover, the poplar PtAGP18 was able to complement the Arabidopsis atagp18 T-DNA mutants which displayed altered fiber shape and cell wall thickness, indicating that these two genes are functionally equivalent (Chapter 2). Analysis of the growth of Arabidopsis hypocotyls cultivated in darkness revealed that AGP18 is involved in cell expansion (Chapter 2). In parallel, I showed that the AGP9 affects xylem vessel differentiation and vessel cell expansion (Chapter 3). A role for AGP9 in cell expansion was also demonstrated with Arabidopsis agp9 mutant hypocotyls grown in the dark (Chapter 3). Furthermore, AGP14 appears to contribute to cell wall formation in poplar (Chapter 4). Taken together, the functional characterization of these AGPs suggests that AGP18 and AGP9 play roles in the development of fibers and vessels, respectively. However, further research is needed to delineate the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms through which AGPs contribute to secondary xylem development.

Text

2014-04-22

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/46543

Forestry

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/