Abstract
The plant cell wall has a diversity of functions. It provides a structural framework to support plant growth and acts as the first line of defense when the plant encounters pathogens. The cell wall must also retain some flexibility, such that when subjected to developmental, biotic, or abiotic stimuli it can be rapidly remodeled in response. Genes encoding enzymes capable of synthesizing or hydrolyzing components of the plant cell wall show differential expression when subjected to different stresses, suggesting they may facilitate stress tolerance through changes in cell wall composition. In this review we summarize recent genetic and transcriptomic data from the literature supporting a role for specific cell wall-related genes in stress responses, in both dicot and monocot systems. These studies highlight that the molecular signatures of cell wall modification are often complex and dynamic, with multiple genes appearing to respond to a given stimulus. Despite this, comparisons between publically available datasets indicate that in many instances cell wall-related genes respond similarly to different pathogens and abiotic stresses, even across the monocot-dicot boundary. We propose that the emerging picture of cell wall remodeling during stress is one that utilizes a common toolkit of cell wall-related genes, multiple modifications to cell wall structure, and a defined set of stress-responsive transcription factors that regulate them.
Highlights
The plant cell wall is a complex structure that fulfills a diverse array of functions throughout the plant lifecycle
Following the first two sections of this review, where we have considered new and historical findings regarding the role of cell wall-related polymers and genes during biotic and abiotic stress, we have revisited multiple transcriptional datasets to summarize the response of cell wall and carbohydrate-related genes and families upon stress, emphasizing the remarkable level of conservation in responses induced by different stress types
Of the current review we provide a brief summary of studies that reveal insight into the transcriptional dynamics of cell wall genes during abiotic stress, before focussing on studies in monocots and dicots that have directly attributed the effect of a cell wall-related gene or gene family to altered abiotic stress responses
Summary
The plant cell wall is a complex structure that fulfills a diverse array of functions throughout the plant lifecycle. The pectic and non-cellulosic polysaccharides can be further distinguished by sugar substitutions and side chains that are attached to the polysaccharide backbone during biosynthesis (Scheller and Ulvskov, 2010) These substituents influence solubility, viscosity, and interactions with other polysaccharides and proteins within the cell wall. Some of the answers may be buried within publically available transcriptome datasets from monocot and dicot species, which detail global transcriptional responses to pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, oomycetes, insects and nematodes, and abiotic stresses such as drought, cold and heat These datasets provide a resource to identify carbohydrate-related gene families that encode proteins with similar functional domains Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes (CAZy) Database; (Lombard et al, 2014), and to determine whether specific families such as glycosyltransferases (GTs), glycosylhydrolases (GHs), and other carbohydrate-modifying enzymes might play key roles in cell wall synthesis and modification during stress. Following the first two sections of this review, where we have considered new and historical findings regarding the role of cell wall-related polymers and genes during biotic and abiotic stress, we have revisited multiple transcriptional datasets to summarize the response of cell wall and carbohydrate-related genes and families upon stress, emphasizing the remarkable level of conservation in responses induced by different stress types
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