title: Characterizing visible and invisible cell wall mutant phenotypes.
abstract: About 10% of a plant's genome is devoted to generating the protein machinery to synthesize, remodel, and deconstruct the cell wall. High-throughput genome sequencing technologies have enabled a reasonably complete inventory of wall-related genes that can be assembled into families of common evolutionary origin. Assigning function to each gene family member has been aided immensely by identification of mutants with visible phenotypes or by chemical and spectroscopic analysis of mutants with 'invisible' phenotypes of modified cell wall composition and architecture that do not otherwise affect plant growth or development. This review connects the inference of gene function on the basis of deviation from the wild type in genetic functional analyses to insights provided by modern analytical techniques that have brought us ever closer to elucidating the sequence structures of the major polysaccharide components of the plant cell wall.
authors: Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, 915 West State Street, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA Department of Biological Sciences, 915 West State Street, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA Bindley Bioscience Center, 1203 West State Street, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA carpita@purdue.edu.
authors: Nicholas C
authors: NC
authors: Carpita
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, 915 West State Street, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA Bindley Bioscience Center, 1203 West State Street, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
authors: Maureen C
authors: MC
authors: McCann
mesh_terms: D002473:Cell Wall / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D009154:Mutation; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Capillary electrophoresis; Fourier transform infrared (FTIR); cell wall mutant; cell wall synthesis; electrospray ionization (ESI); mass spectrometry (MS); matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI); methylation analysis; principal components analysis (PCA).