PtrKOR1 is required for secondary cell wall cellulose biosynthesis in Populus

KORRIGAN ( KOR), encoding an endo-1,4-beta-glucanase, plays a critical role in the cellulose synthesis of plant cell wall formation. KOR sequence orthologs are duplicated in the Populus genome relative to Arabidopsis. This study reports an expression analysis of the KOR genes in Populus. The five PtrKOR genes displayed different expression patterns, suggesting that they play roles in different developmental processes. Through RNAi suppression, results demonstrated that PtrKOR1 is required for secondary cell wall cellulose formation in Populus. Together, the results suggest that the PtrKOR genes may play distinct roles in association with cell wall formation in different tissues.