Cellulose synthase is an enzyme complex that largely determines the structure and properties of cellulose. This biosynthetic machinery is embedded in the plasma membrane where it extrudes cellulose chains to the plant cell wall or, in the case of bacterial cells, to the extracellular medium. The chains coalesce to form microfibrillar structures that may aggregate with each other and/or interact with other carbohydrate polymers present in the immediate environment to form complex natural composites. The understanding of cellulose biosynthesis has been stymied by the instability of the cellulose synthase complex upon extraction from the plasma membrane. However, significant progress has recently been made through the use of in vitro systems that allow preservation of cellulose synthase activity and the analysis of its biochemical properties. This presentation will review the different in vitro biochemical approaches used to study cellulose formation in vitro as well as the structural analytical methods available to characterize the cellulose formed in vitro by isolated cellulose synthases. The presentation will also discuss the structural properties of cellulose formed in vitro with that of cellulose isolated from plant cell walls.

Use of in vitro biosynthetic systems to understand cellulose formation and properties

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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