Plant cell electrophysiology: Applications in growth enhancement, somatic hybridisation and gene transfer

The primary plant cell wall comprises the most abundant polysaccharides on the Earth and represents a rich source of energy for organisms which have evolved the ability to digest them. Enzymes able to degrade plant cell wall polysaccharides are widely distributed in micro-organisms but are generally absent in animals, although their presence in insects, especially phytophagous beetles from the superfamilies Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea, has recently begun to be appreciated. The observed patchy distribution of endogenous genes encoding these enzymes in animals has raised questions about their evolutionary origins. Recent evidence suggests that endogenous plant cell wall degrading enzymes-encoding genes have been acquired by animals through a mechanism known as horizontal gene transfer (HGT). HGT describes how genetic material is moved by means other than vertical inheritance from a parent to an offspring. Here, we provide evidence that the mustard leaf beetle, Phaedon cochleariae , possesses in its genome genes encoding active xylanases from the glycoside hydrolase family 11 (GH11). We also provide evidence that these genes were originally acquired by P. cochleariae from a species of gammaproteobacteria through HGT. This represents the first example of the presence of genes from the GH11 family in animals.

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Horizontal gene transfer and functional diversification of plant cell wall degrading polygalacturonases: Key events in the evolution of herbivory in beetles

Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology ◽

10.1016/j.ibmb.2014.06.008 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 52 ◽

pp. 33-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

Roy Kirsch ◽

Lydia Gramzow ◽

Günter Theißen ◽

Blair D. Siegfried ◽

Richard H. ffrench-Constant ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Gene Transfer ◽

Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Plant Cell Wall ◽

Functional Diversification ◽

Key Events

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On The Mechanical and Dynamic Properties of Plant Cell Membranes: Their Role in Growth, Direct Gene Transfer and Protoplast Fusion

Journal of Theoretical Biology ◽

10.1006/jtbi.1993.1003 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 160 (1) ◽

pp. 41-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Antje Kell ◽

Ralf W. Glaser

Keyword(s):

Gene Transfer ◽

Protoplast Fusion ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Cell Membranes ◽

Dynamic Properties ◽

Direct Gene Transfer ◽

Direct Gene ◽

Plant Cell Membranes

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IR-FEL-induced green fluorescence protein (GFP) gene transfer into plant cell

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment ◽

10.1016/s0168-9002(02)00384-4 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 483 (1-2) ◽

pp. 571-575 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kunio Awazu ◽

Takeshi Kinpara ◽

Eiichi Tamiya

Keyword(s):

Gene Transfer ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Green Fluorescence Protein ◽

Green Fluorescence ◽

Gfp Gene ◽

Fluorescence Protein

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Sectioned rubisco crystals in TEM

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010016087x ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 664-665

Author(s):

Gunnel Karlsson ◽

Jan-Olov Bovin ◽

Michael Bosma

Keyword(s):

Plant Cell ◽

Carbon Fixation ◽

Unit Cell ◽

Protein Crystals ◽

Unit Cell Parameters ◽

Cell Parameters ◽

Photosynthetic Carbon Fixation ◽

Photosynthetic Carbon

RuBisCO (D-ribulose-l,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) is the most aboundant enzyme in the plant cell and it catalyses the key carboxylation reaction of photosynthetic carbon fixation, but also the competing oxygenase reaction of photorespiation. In vitro crystallized RuBisCO has been studied earlier but this investigation concerns in vivo existance of RuBisCO crystals in anthers and leaves ofsugarbeets. For the identification of in vivo protein crystals it is important to be able to determinethe unit cell of cytochemically identified crystals in the same image. In order to obtain the best combination of optimal contrast and resolution we have studied different staining and electron accelerating voltages. It is known that embedding and sectioning can cause deformation and obscure the unit cell parameters.

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Exploration of cell wall architecture with the rapid-freeze deep-etch technique

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100146485 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 128-129

Author(s):

Béatrice Satiat-Jeunemaitre ◽

Chris Hawes

Keyword(s):

Plant Cell ◽

Cell Walls ◽

Cell Biology ◽

Molecular Model ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Secretory Activity ◽

Wall Structure ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Molecular Architecture ◽

Plant Cell Walls

The comprehension of the molecular architecture of plant cell walls is one of the best examples in cell biology which illustrates how developments in microscopy have extended the frontiers of a topic. Indeed from the first electron microscope observation of cell walls it has become apparent that our understanding of wall structure has advanced hand in hand with improvements in the technology of specimen preparation for electron microscopy. Cell walls are sub-cellular compartments outside the peripheral plasma membrane, the construction of which depends on a complex cellular biosynthetic and secretory activity (1). They are composed of interwoven polymers, synthesised independently, which together perform a number of varied functions. Biochemical studies have provided us with much data on the varied molecular composition of plant cell walls. However, the detailed intermolecular relationships and the three dimensional arrangement of the polymers in situ remains a mystery. The difficulty in establishing a general molecular model for plant cell walls is also complicated by the vast diversity in wall composition among plant species.

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