Carbohydrate Microarray Technology Applied to High-Throughput Mapping of Plant Cell Wall Glycans Using Comprehensive Microarray Polymer Profiling (CoMPP).

Cell walls are an important feature of plant cells and a major component of the plant glycome. They have both structural and physiological functions and are critical for plant growth and development. The diversity and complexity of these structures demand advanced high-throughput techniques to answer questions about their structure, functions and roles in both fundamental and applied scientific fields. Microarray technology provides both the high-throughput and the feasibility aspects required to meet that demand. In this chapter, some of the most recent microarray-based techniques relating to plant cell walls are described together with an overview of related contemporary techniques applied to carbohydrate microarrays and their general potential in glycoscience. A detailed experimental procedure for high-throughput mapping of plant cell wall glycans using the comprehensive microarray polymer profiling (CoMPP) technique is included in the chapter and provides a good example of both the robust and high-throughput nature of microarrays as well as their applicability to plant glycomics.

High throughput screening of starch structures using carbohydrate microarrays.

In this study we introduce the starch-recognising carbohydrate binding module family 20 (CBM20) from Aspergillus niger for screening biological variations in starch molecular structure using high throughput carbohydrate microarray technology. Defined linear, branched and phosphorylated maltooligosaccharides, pure starch samples including a variety of different structures with variations in the amylopectin branching pattern, amylose content and phosphate content, enzymatically modified starches and glycogen were included. Using this technique, different important structures, including amylose content and branching degrees could be differentiated in a high throughput fashion. The screening method was validated using transgenic barley grain analysed during development and subjected to germination. Typically, extreme branching or linearity were detected less than normal starch structures. The method offers the potential for rapidly analysing resistant and slowly digested dietary starches.

Recognition of the helical structure of beta-1,4-galactan by a new family of carbohydrate-binding modules.

The microbial enzymes that depolymerize plant cell wall polysaccharides, ultimately promoting energy liberation and carbon recycling, are typically complex in their modularity and often contain carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs). Here, through analysis of an unknown module from a Thermotoga maritima endo-ß-1,4-galactanase, we identify a new family of CBMs that are most frequently found appended to proteins with ß-1,4-galactanase activity. Polysaccharide microarray screening, immunofluorescence microscopy, and biochemical analysis of the isolated module demonstrate the specificity of the module, here called TmCBM61, for ß-1,4-linked galactose-containing ligands, making it the founding member of family CBM61. The ultra-high resolution X-ray crystal structures of TmCBM61 (0.95 and 1.4 Å resolution) in complex with ß-1,4-galactotriose reveal the molecular basis of the specificity of the CBM for ß-1,4-galactan. Analysis of these structures provides insight into the recognition of an unexpected helical galactan conformation through a mode of binding that resembles the recognition of starch.

An array of possibilities for pectin.

Pectins are a major component of plant cell walls and have numerous roles in plant growth and development. Extracted pectins are widely used as functional food ingredients in products including ice creams, jams, jellies and milk drinks. Although all are based on a galacturonan-rich backbone, pectins are an immensely diverse family of polysaccharides, the functional properties of which are dictated by their fine structures. Understanding the biological roles of pectins and optimizing their industrial usage requires a detailed knowledge of their diversity and spatial and temporal distributions, and microarray technology is a promising tool for high throughput pectin analysis. This article discusses the technical aspects of the production of pectin microarrays and explores their current and potential future uses in the context of recent work in the field.

Synthesis and application of arylmonophosphinoferrocene ligands: ultrafast asymmetric hydrosilylation of styrene.

A short and efficient synthetic route to a novel class of atropisomeric and planar chiral 2-aryl-1-diphenylphosphanylferrocene ligands is presented. The modular design of the ligands allows a synthetic approach in which both the aromatic moiety and the phosphino substituent can be varied easily. This permits fine-tuning of steric and electronic properties. The ligands have been tested in the asymmetric hydrosilylation of styrene where enantioselectivities up to 90% are obtained. Optimization of the palladium-to-ligand ratio resulted in hitherto unparalleled turnover frequencies (TOF) exceeding 180 000 h(-1). The absolute stereochemistry of the ligands was determined from an X-ray structure. 2D NMR experiments in combination with ab initio calculations were used to assign the conformation of the atropisomeric biarylic scaffold.