title: Building lipid barriers: biosynthesis of cutin and suberin.
abstract: Cutin and suberin are the polymer matrices for lipophilic cell wall barriers. These barriers control the fluxes of gases, water and solutes, and also play roles in protecting plants from biotic and abiotic stresses and in controlling plant morphology. Although they are ubiquitous, cutin and suberin are the least understood of the major plant extracellular polymers. The use of forward and reverse genetic approaches in Arabidopsis has led to the identification of oxidoreductase and acyltransferase genes involved in the biosynthesis of these polymers. However, major questions about the underlying polymer structure, biochemistry, and intracellular versus extracellular assembly remain to be resolved. The analysis of plant lines with modified cutins and suberins has begun to reveal the inter-relationships between the composition and function of these polymers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1312, USA. pollard9@msu.edu
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pollard
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beisson
authors.forename: Yonghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ohlrogge
mesh_terms: D000217:Acyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011108:Polymers / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D011108:Polymers; C000521:cutin; C065875:suberin; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D000217:Acyltransferases