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Callose integration into secondary cell walls modifies woody biomass ultrastructure and accessibility

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Previous genetic engineering of plant secondary cell walls targeted its core polymers to facilitate their extractability. The ectopic introduction of the polymer callose into poplar wood secondary cell walls modifies the ultrastructure of cellulose microfibril aggregates and suggests new avenues when considering biomass genetic engineering.

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Fig. 1: Callose integration into cellulose microfibrils and macrofibrils increases cellulose to lignin distance, free water content and enzyme accessibility.

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This is a summary of: Bourdon, M. et al. Ectopic callose deposition into woody biomass modulates the nano-architecture of macrofibrils. Nat. Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01459-0 (2023).

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Callose integration into secondary cell walls modifies woody biomass ultrastructure and accessibility. Nat. Plants 9, 1385–1386 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01487-w

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