Mutations in both ArabidopsisXyloglucan Xylosyltransferase1 (XXT1) and Xyloglucan Xylosyltransferase2 (XXT2) result in the absence of the major hemicellulose, xyloglucan (XyG). The growth physiology, tensile strength, and cell wall compositions of etiolated hypocotyls of xxt1/xxt2 double and xxt1/xxt2/xxt5 triple mutants were characterized and compared with those of mur2 and mur3 mutations that alter the side group composition of XyG. Wild type and mur2 demonstrated normal elongation growth, whereas the xxt double and triple mutants and mur3 showed reduced elongation and cell swelling at the base of the hypocotyl at the later stages of elongation. Whereas mur3 hypocotyls had reduced tensile strength, the xxt double and triple mutants had similar tensile strengths as wild type, but reached breaking points at lower strains. Loss of XyG in hypocotyls and rosette leaf cell walls was associated with specific increases in the relative abundance of homogalacturonan and the hemicellulose glucomannan, but not arabinoxylan. The increased homogalacturonan and glucomannan abundance did not result from enhanced expression of their polymer synthases. An analysis of published transcriptomic data indicated that genes encoding some members of the expansin, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase, arabinogalactan-protein, and structural protein families were upregulated in the xxt mutants. We hypothesize that an as yet unknown mechanism exists by which pectin and hemicellulose abundance can be altered other than by increased rates of biosynthesis to maintain a structurally sound cell wall.
Keywords: Arabidopsis; cell wall; cell wall tensile strength; glucomannan; hemicellulose; homogalacturonan; xyloglucan; xyloglucan xylosyltransferase mutants.