Prediction of Glycosyltransferase activities involved in plant cell wall composition
Karen Therkelsen (Denmark)1; Kristian Barrett (Denmark)1; Mengyu Lei (Denmark)2; Jing Zhang (Denmark)2; Troels Wisen Mouritzen (Denmark)2; Stig Uggerhøj Andersen (Denmark)2; Jesper Holck (Denmark)1;
1 - Section for Protein Chemistry & Enzyme Technology, Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; 2 - Section for Plant Molecular Biology, Institute for Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark;
Keywords: Glycosyltransferase; specificity; prediction;
Abstract Topics: Theme 10: Tools, Imaging, and Omics for Cell Wall Research
Type of Presentation: Poster

Abstract text: The plant cell wall is a dynamic network of complex polysaccharides including cellulose, hemicelluloses, and pectins. The wall properties are governed by cross-linking interactions, and modifying plant cell wall polysaccharides can alter wall architecture and functionality (Cosgrove, 2024). A key step toward rational plant cell wall engineering is deciphering the action of glycosyltransferases (GTs) in carbohydrate biosynthesis. GTs exhibit high substrate and linkage specificity, enabling precise mapping of their activities to glycosidic bonds within plant cell wall polysaccharides.
In this study, GT specificities in a diverse faba bean (Vicia faba) panel (NORFAB (Skovbjerg et al., 2023), comprising ~200 cultivars, are predicted and grouped by function-based motifs using CUPP (Barrett and Lange, 2019). Long-read transcriptomics of the NORFAB panel reveals variation in GT expression profiles for both known and unknown specificities. The differences in GT expression are expected to alter cell wall composition and will be validated through complementary glycomics analyses. This approach provides new insights into GT diversity and function, with potential for targeted plant cell wall modification.