PARVUS affects aluminium sensitivity by modulating the structure of glucuronoxylan in Arabidopsis thaliana

Glucuronoxylan (GX), an important component of hemicellulose in the cell wall, appears to affect aluminium (Al) sensitivity in plants. To investigate the role of GX in cell-wall-localized xylan, we examined the Arabidopsis thaliana parvus mutant in detail. This mutant lacks α-D-glucuronic acid (GlcA) side chains in GX and has greater resistance to Al stress than wild-type (WT) plants. The parvus mutant accumulated lower levels of Al in its roots and cell walls than WT despite having cell wall pectin content and pectin methylesterase (PME) activity similar to those of WT. Our results suggest that the altered properties of hemicellulose in the mutant contribute to its decreased Al accumulation. Although we observed almost no differences in hemicellulose content between parvus and WT under control conditions, less Al was retained in parvus hemicellulose than in WT. This observation is consistent with the finding that GlcA substitutions in WT GX, but not mutant GX, were increased under Al stress. Taken together, these results suggest that the modulation of GlcA levels in GX affects Al resistance by influencing the Al binding capacity of the root cell wall in Arabidopsis.