Melissa Roach,
Lorenz Gerber, David Sandquist,
András Gorzsás,
Mattias Hedenström,
Manoj Kumar,
Marie Caroline Steinhauser,
Regina Feil,
Geoffrey Daniel,
Mark Stitt,
Björn Sundberg,
Totte Niittylä
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ABSTRACT: Sucrose is the main transported form of carbon in several plant species, including Populus species. Sucrose metabolism in developing wood has therefore a central role in carbon partitioning to stem biomass. Half of the sucrose-derived carbon is in the form of fructose, but metabolism of fructose has received little attention as a factor in carbon partitioning to walls of wood cells. We show that RNAi-mediated reduction of FRK2 activity in developing wood of hybrid aspen (Populus tremula × tremuloides) led to the accumulation of soluble neutral sugars and a decrease in hexose phosphates and UDP-glucose, indicating that carbon flux to cell-wall polysaccharide precursors is decreased. Reduced FRK2 activity also led to thinner fiber cell walls with a reduction in the proportion of cellulose. No pleiotropic effects on stem height or diameter were observed. The results establish a central role for FRK2 activity in carbon flux to wood cellulose.
The Plant Journal 01/2012; 70(6):967-77. · 6.16 Impact Factor
