High impact information on CESA8

• To address this problem, microarray data have been generated from tissue undergoing secondary cell wall formation and used to identify genes that exhibit a similar expression pattern to the secondary cell wall-specific cellulose synthase genes IRREGULAR XYLEM1 (IRX1) and IRX3 [1].
• The irregular xylem 1 (irx1) mutant of Arabidopsis has a severe deficiency in the deposition of cellulose in secondary cell walls, which results in collapsed xylem cells [2].
• This is consistent with the irregular xylem phenotype and suggests that the walls of irx plants are not resistant to compressive forces [3].
• Consequently, these data suggest that IRX5, IRX3, and IRX1 are all essential components of the cellulose synthesizing complex and the presence of all three subunits is required for the correct assembly of this complex [4].
• Disruption of the cellulose synthase gene, AtCesA8/IRX1, enhances drought and osmotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis [5].

Biological context of CESA8

• Thus, IRX1 and IRX3 define distinct classes of catalytic subunits that are both essential for cellulose synthesis in plants [2].

Associations of CESA8 with chemical compounds

• The mutants were more tolerant to drought stress as well as to NaCl, mannitol and other osmotic stresses. lew2 mutant plants accumulated more abscisic acid (ABA), proline and soluble sugars than the wild type [5].

Other interactions of CESA8

• A cellulose synthase catalytic subunit was found to be located in this region, and genomic clones containing this gene complemented the irx1 mutation [2].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of CESA8

• Examination of the cell walls by using electron microscopy demonstrated that the decreases in cellulose content of irx lines resulted in an alteration of the spatial organization of cell wall material [3].

References