Higher plant cells are encased in cell walls that define their shape and contribute to the strength and structural integrity not only of individual cells, but also of the entire plant. The wall consists of microcrystalline cellulose that is embedded in a hydrated matrix consisting of coextensive networks of complex heteropolysaccharides and and polyphenols, such as lignin. Despite its necessary rigidity, the cell wall is a highly dynamic entity that is metabolically active. Within CEPLAS we will study the carbon flow from photosynthesis to wall and that on a cell specific level.

1. Rautengarten C, Ebert B, Liu L, Stonebloom S, Smith-Moritz AM, Pauly M, Orellana A, Scheller HV, Heazlewood JL (2016) The Arabidopsis Golgi-localized GDP-L-fucose transporter is required for plant development. Nat Commun 7:12119.
2. Pauly M, Keegstra K (2016) Biosynthesis of the Plant Cell Wall Matrix Polysaccharide Xyloglucan. Annual review of plant biology 67:235-259.
3. Xu C, Liberatore KL, MacAlister CA, Huang Z, Chu YH, Jiang K, Brooks C, Ogawa-Ohnishi M, Xiong G, Pauly M, Van Eck J, Matsubayashi Y, van der Knaap E, Lippman ZB (2015) A cascade of arabinosyltransferases controls shoot meristem size in tomato. Nature genetics 47(7):784-792.
4. Xiong G, Dama M, Pauly M (2015) Glucuronic Acid Moieties on Xylan Are Functionally Equivalent to O-Acetyl-Substituents. Molecular plant 8(7):1119-1121.
5. Schultink A, Naylor D, Dama M, Pauly M (2015) The role of the plant-specific ALTERED XYLOGLUCAN9 protein in Arabidopsis cell wall polysaccharide O-acetylation. Plant Physiol 167(4):1271-1283.
6. Loque D, Scheller HV, Pauly M (2015) Engineering of plant cell walls for enhanced biofuel production. Curr Opin Plant Biol 25:151-161.
7. Liu L, Paulitz J, Pauly M (2015) The presence of fucogalactoxyloglucan and its synthesis in rice indicates conserved functional importance in plants. Plant Physiol 168(2):549-560.
8. Günl M, Neumetzler L, Kraemer F, de Souza A, Schultink A, Pena M, York WS, Pauly M (2011) AXY8 Encodes an α-Fucosidase, Underscoring the Importance of Apoplastic Metabolism on the Fine Structure of Arabidopsis Cell Wall Polysaccharides. The Plant cell 23(11):4025-4040.
9. Gille S, de Souza A, Xiong G, Benz M, Cheng K, Schultink A, Reca IB, Pauly M (2011) O-acetylation of Arabidopsis hemicellulose xyloglucan requires AXY4 or AXY4L, proteins with a TBL and DUF231 domain. The Plant cell 23(11):4041-4053.
10. Gille S, Hänsel U, Ziemann M, Pauly M (2009) Identification of plant cell wall mutants by means of a forward chemical genetic approach using hydrolases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(34):14699-14704.

Interview at CEPLAS Faces