Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Science

Do polysaccharide-degrading enzymes also help build polysaccharides?

Most of the carbon fixed by plants through photosynthesis is ultimately stored in the cell wall, primarily in the form of polysaccharides such as cellulose, xylan, and glucomannan. Yet how plants efficiently synthesize these wall polymers has remained unclear, particularly because polysaccharides su...

Do polysaccharide-degrading enzymes also help build polysaccharides?
Image: Phys.org
Most of the carbon fixed by plants through photosynthesis is ultimately stored in the cell wall, primarily in the form of polysaccharides such as cellulose, xylan, and glucomannan. Yet how plants efficiently synthesize these wall polymers has remained unclear, particularly because polysaccharides such as glucomannan and xylan are prone to aggregation through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions.

Originally published at Phys.org

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