WALLTRAC · The Plant Cell Wall Training Consortium

Plant cell walls constitute a highly complex and dynamic entity of extreme importance in plant growth and development. Growing cell walls can be considered as ""fibre composites"", where cellulose microfibrils are embedded in a matrix of complex glycans. It is becoming increasingly apparent (i) that cell wall glycans are diverse in structural terms, (ii) that these structures are developmentally regulated, and (iii) that not all cell walls in an organ are comprised of the same configurations of glycans. The architecture of plant cell walls is governed by the fine structure of their constitutive polymers, this fine structure having profound effects on polymers functional properties after extraction or in planta. The immense complexity and spatial & temporal versatility of cell wall glycans render a full understanding of their structure-function relationships extremely challenging for plant biology research and for the uses of cell wall-derived materials in industrial contexts.WallTraC has thereby two major interlinked strategic objectives:(i) To develop new molecular tools & techniques for the analysis of plant cell walls & their component polymers - mainly pectin and cellulose - with direct applicability to industrial end-users in the functional food ingredients & plant fibre sectors