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Poster

Session: Session 2 Presenting Authors at Posters (Evens)

P-040 - Exploring the role of carbohydrate structural diversity in Arabidopsis cell wall mutants for mediating plant-microbe interactions

Thursday, July 17, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Crop resistance genetics and genomics

    Presenting Author(s)

  • SW

    Shaogan Wang

    Postdoc
    Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
    Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    • Author(s)

  • VR

    Vicente Ramírez

    Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
    Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

  • MP

    Markus Pauly

    Professor
    Heinrich-Heine University
    Duesseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Plant cell walls are dynamic mainly polysaccharide-based structures that support plant growth, development, and adaptation to environmental stresses. Xylan, the major hemicellulose in most plant walls, consists of a backbone of xylose units, which can be dynamically modified with different substitutions such as acetyl-moieties, arabinose, and/or (methyl-)glucuronic acid. Specific xylan substitution patterns regulate key wall properties including mechanical strength, wall thickening and recalcitrance to degradation. Wall mutants with altered xylan structures also exhibit distinct disease resistance patterns to diverse pathogens and relationship with beneficial microbes, yet the impact of specific xylan structural features remains to be fully elucidated. One major challenge is the strong pleiotropic effects displayed by Arabidopsis mutants altered in their xylan structure such as severe dwarfism and constitutive activation of stress responses. To overcome these limitations we have employed different strategies to engineer Arabidopsis lines with diverse xylan structures and compositions while maintaining normal plant growth. Through detailed compositional and structural analyses of this collection, our research aims to elucidate how xylan structural diversity influences cell wall-mediated immunity and microbial symbiosis. These insights may provide novel strategies for enhancing plant resilience and optimizing beneficial microbial interactions through targeted xylan engineering.