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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

High Resolution Quantification of Crystalline Cellulose Accumulation in Arabidopsis Roots to Monitor Tissue-specific Cell Wall Modifications
Published on: May 10, 2016
BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE2 negatively regulates cellulose synthesis in Arabidopsis by phosphorylating cellulose
Clara Sánchez-Rodríguez1, KassaDee Ketelaar2, Rene Schneider3
1Department of Biology, Eidgenössiche Technische Hochschule Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The deposition of cellulose is a defining aspect of plant growth and development, but regulation of this process is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the protein kinase BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE2 (BIN2), a key negative regulator of brassinosteroid (BR) signaling, can phosphorylate Arabidopsis cellulose synthase A1 (CESA1), a subunit of the primary cell wall cellulose synthase complex, and thereby negatively regulate cellulose biosynthesis. Accordingly, point mutations of the BIN2-mediated CESA1 phosphorylation site abolished BIN2-dependent regulation of cellulose synthase activity. Hence, we have uncovered a mechanism for how BR signaling can modulate cellulose synthesis in plants.
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