The Biochemistry and Structural Biology of Plant Cell

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From   Harry J. Gilbert*
The cell walls of plants are the most abundant source
of organic carbon on the planet. This photosynthetically
fixed carbon is recycled by microbial enzymes that
convert cell wall polysaccharides to monosaccharides
and oligosaccharides, a process that is of biological and
industrial importance (Sticklen, 2008; Himmel and
Bayer, 2009). Plant cell walls are recalcitrant to biological
depolymerization, as the extensive interactions
between polysaccharides, and between polysaccharides
and lignin, restrict access to the battery of microbial
glycoside hydrolases, pectate lyases, and esterases
that breakdown these composite structures (for review,
see Mohnen, 2008). Since the early 1990s, there has been
an explosion of structural information on both the
catalytic and noncatalytic components of these enzymes.
This review will provide an overview/update
of the structure-function relationships of the enzymes
that catalyze plant cell wall deconstruction.