Carbohydrate-active enzymes involved in rice cell wall metabolism.

Abstract

Plant cell walls are complex, multifunctional structures, built up of polysaccharides and proteins. The configuration and abundance of cell wall constituents determine cellular elongation and plant growth. The emphasis of this review is on rice, a staple crop with economic importance, serving as model for grasses/cereals. Recent advancements have contributed to a better understanding of the grass/cereal cell wall. This review brings together the current knowledge about the organisation and metabolism of the rice cell wall, and addresses gaps and missing information connected to the cell wall of rice and the enzymes involved. Several cell wall fractions, including cellulose, mixed-linkage glucans and glucuronoarabinoxylans, are well-understood in rice and other grasses/grains. Conversely, there are still open questions and missing links when it comes down to xyloglucans, glucomannans, pectin, lignin and arabinogalactan proteins. There is still a large and untapped potential to identify carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), to characterise their activity and to elucidate their involvement in the metabolism of the mentioned cell wall fractions. With this review, we demonstrate the current state and demarcate the research areas with potential for further investigations.