Paul Dupree

Paul Dupree

Plant cell wall synthesis and function.

Plant cells remodel their cell wall dramatically during growth and differentiation, and the wall polysaccharides have also changed during land plant evolution. The Dupree Group is focused on understanding the biosynthesis and function of polysaccharide components, their assembly and specific interactions in the plant cell wall. Despite cell wall polysaccharides being some of the most abundant polymers on Earth, and them having enormous nutritional, agricultural, and industrial importance, surprisingly little is known about the genes and enzymes that carry out their synthesis. The polysaccharides are synthesised by an amazing variety of enzymes in the Golgi apparatus. Crucial players in polysaccharide synthesis are sugar nucleotide transporters and glycosyltransferases in the Golgi lumen. In recent years we have discovered various sugar nucleotide transporters and glycosyltransferases involved in xylan, glucomannan and arabinogalactan biosynthesis.


The major focus of our research is now the assembly and interaction of the polymers in the plant cell wall, which determine the varied properties required during plant development. Moreover, we investigate the role and potential use of plant cell wall components in a net-zero carbon future.
 

Research objectives

  • How are xylan, glucomannan and cellulose synthesised by plants?
  • How are the polymers assembled in the plant cell wall? We in particular focus on assembly of cellulose microfibrils and the interactions with hemicelluloses.
  • How does the structure of the polysaccharides influence the functional properties in the cell wall?
  • How are cell wall polysaccharides degraded by microbes?
  • Which plant cell wall polysaccharides are the best dietary fibres?

Key publications

Yu L, Yoshimi Y, Cresswell R, Wightman R, Lyczakowski JJ, Wilson LFL, Ishida K, Stott K, Yu X, Charalambous S, Wurman-Rodrich J, Terrett OM, Brown SP, Dupree R, Temple H, Krogh KBRM, Dupree P (2022). Eudicot primary cell wall glucomannan is related in synthesis, structure, and function to xyloglucan. Plant Cell, 34(11):4600-4622. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koac238

Temple H, Phyo P, Yang W, Lyczakowski JJ, Echevarría-Poza A, Yakunin I, Parra-Rojas JP, Terrett OM, Saez-Aguayo S, Dupree R, Orellana A, Hong M, Dupree P (2022). Golgi-localized putative S-adenosyl methionine transporters required for plant cell wall polysaccharide methylation. Nature Plants, 8(6):656-669. doi: 10.1038/s41477-022-01156-4

Feijao C, Morreel K, Anders N, Tryfona T, Busse-Wicher M, Kotake T, Boerjan W, Dupree P (2022). Hydroxycinnamic acid-modified xylan side chains and their cross-linking products in rice cell walls are reduced in the Xylosyl arabinosyl substitution of xylan 1 mutant. Plant Journal, 109(5):1152-1167. doi: 10.1111/tpj.15620

Terrett OM, Lyczakowski JJ, Yu L, Iuga D, Franks WT, Brown SP, Dupree R, Dupree P (2019). Molecular architecture of softwood revealed by solid-state NMR. Nature Communications, 10(1):4978. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12979-9