Determining plant cell wall synthesis and integrity mechanisms using small molecules

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Biobased products have the potential to improve the sustainability of Canada's natural resources and environmental quality; this is because they can be used to offset our dependence on petroleum for the production of fuels and materials like plastics. Plants contain hundreds of components that are useful for biobased products. For example, the cell walls of plants are the source of familiar textiles like cotton and building materials like wood. However, some cell wall components can also be converted to plastics and fuels. Our research is aimed at understanding how plants make cell walls. We are particularly interested in how cellulose is made, since this is one of the main components of plant cell walls and since it has many potential uses. We are using the model plant Arabidopsis to help us gain insight into this important biological question.