Comparative genomics of pectinacetylesterases: Insight on function and biology

Pectin acetylation influences the gelling ability of this important plant polysaccharide for the food industry. Plant apoplastic pectinacetylesterases (PAEs) play a key role in regulating the degree of pectin acetylation and modifying their expression thus represents one way to engineer plant polysaccharides for food applications. Identifying the major active enzymes within the PAE gene family will aid in our understanding of this biological phenomena as well as provide the tools for direct trait manipulation. Using comparative genomics we propose that there is a minimal set of 4 distinct PAEs in plants. Possible functional diversification of the PAE family in the grasses is also explored with the identification of 3 groups of PAE genes specific to grasses.