How Cellulose Synthesis is Sustained during Salt Stress
Staffan Persson
Max-Planck Institute
Salt stress causes detrimental yield losses for all major plant crop species. Understanding how plant biomass production can be sustained during such stress is therefore of great importance for agricultural activities. Plant biomass is mainly composed of plant cell walls and the main constituent of this compartment is cellulose. Cellulose is synthesized by microtubule-guided cellulose synthase complexes at the plasma membrane. We identified two new components of the cellulose synthase complex, which we call IC proteins (Interactor of Cellulose Synthase). The cytoplasmic part of these proteins binds to microtubules and promote their polymerization. This activity supports microtubule organization and cellulose synthase activity during salt stress, and renders seedlings less sensitive to the stress. Our findings offer a mechanistic model for how the cellulose synthesis machinery can regulate its own activity, and thus plant biomass production, during salt stress.
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