Enzymes for cell wall synthesis conserved across species barriers
Plants have neither supportive bone tissue nor muscles, and yet they can form rigid structures like stalks and even tree trunks. This is due to the fact that plant cells are enveloped by a stable cell wall. The main component of the plant cell wall is cellulose, which represents almost 50 percent of the total cell wall material and, at one billion tons per year, is the most frequently produced macromolecule in nature. Very little is known about the way in which cellulose is produced, and the knowledge that is available has mainly been obtained from the model plant thale cress which, although easy to study, is of no economic significance. Researchers have now succeeded in showing that knowledge obtained in thale cress can be applied to other plant species.