Glycobiology and Plant Extracellular Matrix

GlycoMEV UR 4358 – University of Rouen Normandy

Le 20 avril 2026, le Pr Arnaud LEHNER a animé une conférence à Penn State University (Pennsylvanie, États Unis) intitulée :

« Chemobiology, a Tool Box for Studying Plant Cell Wall Pectic Polysaccharides. »

Sa présentation a exploré des approches innovantes pour étudier la biosynthèse, le remodelage et la fonction de la paroi cellulaire végétale.

Abstract :

Glycans metabolic engineering is a powerful tool for studying the glycosylation of living cells [1, 2]. The use of modified monosaccharides, such as deoxy or fluorinated sugars, has been reported as a powerful pharmacological approach for studying carbohydrate metabolism and plant cell wall biosynthesis [3]. Moreover, non-natural metabolite derivatives that carry functions enabling bio-orthogonal ligations are now widely used for glycomolecules imaging in living organism. In both cases, these derivatives must cross the cell membrane and be accepted by the biosynthetic machinery of the cell to produce nucleotide-sugars that will be taken in charge by the enzymatic machinery to build complex glycomolecule such as cell wall polysaccharides in plant. Here, we illustrate the use of glycan metabolic engineering, photo release of caged monosaccharide derivative and click-chemistry, for studying the plant cell wall biosynthesis and function with an emphasis of the pectic domain rhamnogalacturonan II [4, 5].

1 H. Kayser, R. Zeitler, C. Kannicht, D. Grunow, R. Nuck, W. Reutter, Journal of Biological Chemistry 1992, 267, 16934–16938.
2 L. K. Mahal, K. J. Yarema, C. R. Bertozzi, Science 1997, 276, 1125–1128.
3 M. Dumont, A. Lehner, M. Bardor, C. Burel, B. Vauzeilles, O. Lerouxel, C. T. Anderson, J.-C. Mollet, P. Lerouge, Plant J 2015, 84, 1137–1151.
4 M. Dumont, A. Lehner, B. Vauzeilles, J. Malassis, A. Marchant, K. Smyth, B. Linclau, A. Baron, J. Mas Pons, C. T. Anderson, D. Schapman, L. Galas, J.-C. Mollet, P. Lerouge, Plant J 2016, 85, 437–447.
5 P. Lerouge, M. Carlier, J.-C. Mollet, A. Lehner, in Carbohydrate Chemistry (Eds.: A. Pilar Rauter, T.K. Lindhorst, Y. Queneau), Royal Society Of Chemistry, Cambridge, 2021, 553–571.