Simultaneous regulation of both lignin and cellulose biosynthesis modifies xylem fiber properties in Populus
The transgenic plants exhibited decreased lignin content and a significant increase in cellulose content. Transcriptome analysis indicated that expression of <i>PdLTF1<sup>AA</sup></i> along with <i>PdCesA4</i>, <i>PdCesA7A</i>, or <i>PdCesA8A</i> in fiber cells resulted in transcriptional alterations in the genes associated with cell wall remodeling and polysaccharide synthesis during xylem development. The results also indicated that the diameter of wood fiber cells within the xylem is increased, which leads to a larger stem diameter in the transgenic plants. This study suggests that the biosynthesis of lignin and cellulose can be simultaneously modified, which presents a new strategy for modifying wood fiber characteristics for more efficient fiber and biomass processing.
Authors
- Laigeng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6924-4431)
- Xinwei Tang
- Meng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2454-2157)
- Jiayan Sun
- Xianwen Lu
- Yu Han (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5983-3873)
Institutions
- Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CN)
- Central South University (CN)
- Southwest Forestry University (CN)
- ZheJiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Plant Science
- Published
- 2025-08-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1646316
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Plant Gene Expression Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province
- National Key Research and Development Program of China