Purification and characterization of (1→3, 1→4)-β-glucan endohydrolases from germinated wheat (Triticum aestivum)

A (13, 14)--glucan 4-glucanohydrolase [(13, 14)--glucanase, EC 3.2.1.73] was purified to homogeneity from extracts of germinated wheat grain. The enzyme, which was identified as an endohydrolase on the basis of oligosaccharide products released from a (13, 14)--glucan substrate, has an apparent pI of 8.2 and an apparent molecular mass of 30 kDa. Western blot analyses with specific monoclonal antibodies indicated that the enzyme is related to (13, 14)--glucanase isoenzyme EI from barley. The complete primary structure of the wheat (13, 14)--glucanase has been deduced from nucleotide sequence analysis of cDNAs isolated from a library prepared using poly(A)⁺ RNA from gibberellic acid-treated wheat aleurone layers. One cDNA, designated LW2, is 1426 nucleotide pairs in length and encodes a 306 amino acid enzyme, together with a NH₂-terminal signal peptide of 28 amino acid residues. The mature polypeptide encoded by this cDNA has a molecular mass of 32085 and a predicted pI of 8.1. The other cDNA, designated LW1, carries a 109 nucleotide pair sequence at its 5 end that is characteristic of plant introns and therefore appears to have been synthesized from an incompletely processed mRNA. Comparison of the coding and 3-untranslated regions of the two cDNAs reveals 31 nucleotide substitutions, but none of these result in amino acid substitutions. Thus, the cDNAs encode enzymes with identical primary structures, but their corresponding mRNAs may have originated from homeologous chromosomes in the hexaploid wheat genome.     

Cell wall (1 → 3)- and (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-glucans during early grain development in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Immunogold labeling was used to study the distribution of (1 → 3)-β-glucans and (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-glucans in the rice grain during cellularization of the endosperm. At approximately 3–5 d after pollination the syncytial endosperm is converted into a cellular tissue by three developmentally distinct types of wall. The initial free-growing anticlinal walls, which compartmentalize the syncytium into open-ended alveoli, are formed in the absence of mitosis and phragmoplasts. This stage is followed by unidirectional (centripetal) growth of the anticlinal walls mediated by adventitious phragmoplasts that form between adjacent interphase nuclei. Finally, the periclinal walls that divide the alveoli are formed in association with centripetally expanding interzonal phragmoplasts following karyokinesis. The second and third types of wall are formed alternately until the endosperm is cellular throughout. All three types of wall that cellularize the endosperm contain (1 → 3)-β-glucans but not (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-glucans, whereas cell walls in the surrounding maternal tissues contain considerable amounts of (1 → 3, 1 → 4)-β-glucans with (1 → 3)-β-glucans present only around plasmodesmata. The callosic endosperm walls remain thin and cell plate-like throughout the cellularization process, appearing to exhibit a prolonged juvenile state. Received: 7 January 1997 / Accepted: 11 February 1997     

Conformational properties of a cyclic oligosaccharide: cyclotrikis-(1→6)-[α-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]

The title compound is a cyclic oligosaccharide having six glucopyranose residues linked alternatively by -(14) and -(16) glycosidic linkages. Like cyclodextrin analogues it is expected to exhibit an internal cavity and to form inclusion complexes with other species. In order to investigate its conformational preferences, an extensive conformational search was carried out using a combination of Metropolis Monte-Carlo (MMC) procedure in the glycosidic torsion angle space and molecular mechanics procedures. To this end a specific program (METROCYCLIX) was developed. To reduce the MMC search, conformational maps of parent disaccharides were considered as starting entries. Fully minimized conformations were gathered into families using a clustering technique based on RMS fitting over the glycosidic torsion angle values. A wide range of local energy minima were identified in spite of ring closure conditions that constrained the structure of the oligosaccharide. Low energy conformers were stabilized by intramolecular interactions between distant residues. From the Bolzmann population of the best structures derived from the clustering results, various average properties were calculated and compared with experimental data obtained by high resolution NMR. Interpretation of these experimental values (heteronuclear coupling constants, rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effects, relaxation times) relies on the use of Karplus like equations (coupling constants) and analysis of the full relaxation rate matrix treatment (ROE). The quality of the molecular modelling strategy used is assessed by the agreement obtained between calculated and measured observables.     

DFTr studies of five- and six-residue cyclic-β(1→4) cellulosic molecules

Density functional (DFT) conformational in vacuo studies of cellobiose have shown that ?_H‐anti conformations are low in energy relative to the syn forms, while the ψ_H‐anti forms are higher in energy. Further, as the cellulosic fragments became larger than a disaccharide and new hydrogen bonding interactions between multiple residues become available, stable low energy ?_H‐anti, and ψ_H‐anti cellulosic structures became possible. To test the stability of cyclic anti‐conformations, a number of β‐linked five‐ and six‐residue molecules were created and then energy optimized in solvent (water, n‐heptane) using the implicit solvation method COSMO at the B3LYP level of theory. The created symmetric cyclic structures were without distortion. Upon optimization some cyclic conformations were found to be of low energy when compared with linear five‐ and six‐residue chains, after correcting the energy for the exclusion of a water molecule upon cyclization. It was also obvious from the hydrogen bonding network formed above and below the plane of the cyclic structure that these structures could exhibit strong synergistic tendencies. The conformational energy preferences for clockwise “c” and counter‐clockwise “r” hydroxyl groups and preference for the hydroxymethyl rotamers is described. Because these structures contain energetically unfavorable flipped conformations in water, that is, dihedral angles of ～180°/0° or ～0°/180° in ?_H/ψ_H, it is clear that the synthesis of these compounds will be challenging. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 97:568–576, 2012.     

Synthesis and stability assay of 4-methylumbelliferyl (1→3)-β-D-pentaglucoside

The synthesis and stability of 4-methylumbelliferyl (1 → 3)-β-D-pentaglucoside 3 are described. The (1 → 3)-β-D-glucan isolated from the cell walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was recovered from the aqueous medium as water-insoluble particles by the spray drying (GS) method. The acid-solubilized (1 → 3)-β-D-oligoglucosides were prepared by partial acid hydrolysis of glucan. The peracetylated (1 → 3)-β-D-pentaglucoside 1 was obtained by isolation of peracetylated (1 → 3)-β-D-oligoglucoside mixture. The peracetylated 4-methylumbelliferyl (1 → 3)-β-D-pentaglucoside 2 was synthesized by treating compound 1 with the 4-methylumbelliferone and a Lewis acid (SnCl₄) catalyst. NaOMe in dry methanol was used for the deacetylation of the blocked derivative, to give the target compound 3 in an overall yield of 35%. Activity assays with β-glucosidase indicated that compound 3 was much more stable than the corresponding pentasaccharide.     

Chemical analysis of new water-soluble (1→6)-, (1→4)-α, β-glucan and water-insoluble (1→3)-, (1→4)-β-glucan (Calocyban) from alkaline extract of an edible mushroom, Calocybe indica (Dudh Chattu)

Two different glucans (PS-I, water-soluble; and PS-II, water-insoluble) were isolated from the alkaline extract of fruit bodies of an edible mushroom Calocybe indica. On the basis of acid hydrolysis, methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, and NMR analysis ((1)H, (13)C, DEPT-135, TOCSY, DQF-COSY, NOESY, ROESY, HMQC, and HMBC), the structure of the repeating unit of these polysaccharides were established as: PS-I: →6)-β-D-Glcp-(1→6)-β-D-glcp-(1→6)-)-β-D-Glcp-(1→ α-D=Glcp (Water-soluble glucan). PS-II: →3)-β-D-Glcp-(1→3)-β-D-glcp-(1→3)-)-β-D-Glcp-(1→3)-β-D-Glcp-(1→ β-D-Glcp (Water-insoluble glucan, Calocyban).     

Water-soluble (1→3), (1→4)-β-D-glucans from barley (Hordeum vulgare) endosperm. II. Fine structure

Water-soluble (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans isolated from barleys grown in Australia and the UK were depolymerised using a purified (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase (EC 3.2.1.73). Oligomeric products were quantitatively separated by high resolution gel filtration chromatography and their structures defined by methylation analysis. Approximately 90% (w/w) of each polysaccharide consists of cellotriosyl and cellotetraosyl residues separated by single (1→3)-linkages but blocks of 5–11 (1→4)-linked glucosyl residues are also present in significant proportions. Periodate oxidation followed by Smith degradation suggested that contiguous (1→3)-linked β-glucosyl residues are either absent, or present in very low frequency. The potential for misinterpretation of data due to incomplete Smith degradation was noted.The irregularly-spaced (1→3)-linkages interrupt the relatively rigid, ribbon-like (1→4)-β-glucan conformation and confer a flexibility and ‘irregular’ shape on the barley (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan, consistent with its solubility in water. Molecular models incorporating the major structural features confirm that the polysaccharide is likely to assume a worm-like conformation in solution. Non-covalent interactions between long blocks of (1→4)-linkages in (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans, or between these blocks and other polysaccharides, offer a possible explanation for the organisation of polysaccharides in the framework of the cell wall.     

Arabinoxylan and (1→3),(1→4)-β-glucan deposition in cell walls during wheat endosperm development

Arabinoxylans (AX) and (1→3),(1→4)-β-glucans are major components of wheat endosperm cell walls. Their chemical heterogeneity has been described but little is known about the sequence of their deposition in cell walls during endosperm development. The time course and pattern of deposition of the (1→3) and (1→3),(1→4)-β-glucans and AX in the endosperm cell walls of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Recital) during grain development was studied using specific antibodies. At approximately 45°D (degree-days) after anthesis the developing walls contained (1→3)-β-glucans but not (1→3),(1→4)-β-glucans. In contrast, (1→3),(1→4)-β-glucans occurred widely in the walls of maternal tissues. At the end of the cellularization stage (72°D), (1→3)-β-glucan epitopes disappeared and (1→3),(1→4)-β-glucans were found equally distributed in all thin walls of wheat endosperm. The AX were detected at the beginning of differentiation (245°D) in wheat endosperm, but were missing in previous stages. However, epitopes related to AX were present in nucellar epidermis and cross cells surrounding endosperm at all stages but not detected in the maternal outer tissues. As soon as the differentiation was apparent, the cell walls exhibited a strong heterogeneity in the distribution of polysaccharides within the endosperm.     

The Maize Mixed-Linkage (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-Glucan Polysaccharide Is Synthesized at the Golgi Membrane

With the exception of cellulose and callose, the cell wall polysaccharides are synthesized in Golgi membranes, packaged into vesicles, and exported to the plasma membrane where they are integrated into the microfibrillar structure. Consistent with this paradigm, several published reports have shown that the maize (Zea mays) mixed-linkage (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan, a polysaccharide that among angiosperms is unique to the grasses and related Poales species, is synthesized in vitro with isolated maize coleoptile Golgi membranes and the nucleotide-sugar substrate, UDP-glucose. However, a recent study reported the inability to detect the β-glucan immunocytochemically at the Golgi, resulting in a hypothesis that the mixed-linkage β-glucan oligomers may be initiated at the Golgi but are polymerized at the plasma membrane surface. Here, we demonstrate that (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans are detected immunocytochemically at the Golgi of the developing maize coleoptiles. Further, when maize seedlings at the third-leaf stage were pulse labeled with [¹⁴C]O₂ and Golgi membranes were isolated from elongating cells at the base of the developing leaves, (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans of an average molecular mass of 250 kD and higher were detected in isolated Golgi membranes. When the pulse was followed by a chase period, the labeled polysaccharides of the Golgi membrane diminished with subsequent transfer to the cell wall. (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-Glucans of at least 250 kD were isolated from cell walls, but much larger aggregates were also detected, indicating a potential for intermolecular interactions with glucuronoarabinoxylans or intermolecular grafting in muro.An overwhelming body of evidence accumulated has established that the (1→4)-β-d-glucan chains of cellulose microfibrils are synthesized and assembled at the plasma membrane surface (Delmer, 1999; Saxena and Brown, 2005), whereas, with the lone exception of the (1→3)-β-d-glucan, callose, all noncellulosic pectin and cross-linking glycan polysaccharides are synthesized in Golgi membranes (Northcote and Pickett-Heaps, 1966; Ray et al., 1969, 1976; Harris and Northcote, 1971; Zhang and Staehelin, 1992). Using several plant systems, including grass species, autoradiography and membrane fractionation showed that monosaccharides from ¹⁴C-labeled substrates accumulated in cell wall polysaccharides in Golgi vesicles during a pulse were subsequently transferred to the cell wall when chased with unlabeled substrates (Northcote and Pickett-Heaps, 1966; Pickett-Heaps, 1967; Jilka et al., 1972). Early studies showed that labeled sugars from nucleotide-sugar substrates could be incorporated into alcohol-insoluble polysaccharides using microsomal membranes, and later refined by isolation of Golgi membranes and the synthesis of defined polysaccharides with combinations of nucleotide sugars (Bailey and Hassid, 1966; Ray et al., 1969, 1976; Smith and Stone, 1973; Ray, 1980; Hayashi and Matsuda, 1981a; Gordon and Maclachlan, 1989; Gibeaut and Carpita, 1993).When micromolar concentrations of substrates were used, only small chains of the glycan products were typically made in vitro. For example, xyloglucan oligomers with the characteristic α-d-Xyl-(1→6)-d-glucosyl unit, isoprimeverose, were synthesized with isolated microsomal membranes and low concentrations of UDP-Glc and UDP-Xyl (Ray et al., 1976; Hayashi and Matsuda, 1981b). When concentrations of each nucleotide sugar were increased to millimolar concentrations, then polysaccharides of about 250 kD were synthesized containing the characteristic XXXG heptasaccharide unit structure (Gordon and Maclachlan, 1989). Immunocytochemical evidence with antibodies directed against the terminal nonreducing xylosyl and fucosyl residues confirm that synthesis of the xyloglucan backbone begins in the cis-Golgi membrane and culminates with fucosylation in the trans-Golgi membrane and trans-Golgi network (Moore et al., 1991; Lynch and Staehelin, 1992; Zhang and Staehelin, 1992). The fucosyl transferase responsible for xyloglucan side chain decoration was also shown to be a Golgi-resident protein by in vitro synthesis of xyloglucan polymers (Camirand and Maclachlan, 1986).In Poales species, including all grasses, the mixed-linkage (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan is a major cross-linking glycan that appears transiently during cell elongation in growing tissues and accumulates to large amounts in the cell walls of the endosperm of certain grains (Stone and Clarke, 1992; Trethewey et al., 2005). Bailey and Hassid (1966) demonstrated the synthesis in vitro of noncellulosic glucans with microsomal membranes from grasses. Henry and Stone (1982) used the Bacillus subtilis endoglucanase, an enzyme that generates diagnostic cellodextrin-(1→3)-β-Glc units from (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan to show that the mixed-linkage β-glucan was made specifically with UDP-Glc and microsomal membranes. We used flotation centrifugation to obtain highly enriched Golgi membranes from which (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans of an average of about 250 kD were synthesized (Gibeaut and Carpita, 1993).The BG1 monoclonal antibody recognizes the (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan with high specificity (Meikle et al., 1994). This monoclonal antibody has been used to show dramatic changes in epitope abundance of (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan in the cell walls of developing tissues (Meikle et al., 1994; Trethewey et al., 2005; McCann et al., 2007) and its appearance in the cell walls of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) following heterologous expression of genes thought to encode its synthases (Burton et al., 2006; Doblin et al., 2009). The failure to detect (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan in Golgi membranes and only in the cell wall prompted Fincher (2009) to conclude that cellodextrin oligomers of the (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan may be initiated in the Golgi membrane, but the actual polymerization of the polysaccharide occurs at the plasma membrane.While there is little question that synthesis of full-length polymers is possible in vitro with isolated Golgi membranes and UDP-Glc (Gibeaut and Carpita, 1993; Buckeridge et al., 1999, 2001; Urbanowicz et al., 2004), Fincher (2009) asserts correctly that there exists no experimental evidence that the polymer is made in vivo within the Golgi membrane in intact tissues. In fact, earlier work showing the paucity of immunolabeling of (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan in Golgi membranes of developing wheat (Triticum aestivum) endosperm at a time of active deposition called to question the site of synthesis in vivo (Philippe et al., 2006). There is precedence for the synthesis of chitin in vitro with precociously activated chitisomes (Bracker et al., 1976), a vesicular package of chitin synthase that in vivo is quiescent until reaching the plasma membrane. No activity of chitin synthase from isolated plasma membranes could be demonstrated. In a similar way, the Golgi synthase activity of (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan could be a precocious activation in vitro of a plasma membrane activity.As in vitro synthesis studies clearly show synthesis of full-length (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan only at the Golgi, we reexamined the puzzling finding of its absence from Golgi bodies to determine the true site of synthesis in vivo. In contrast to Fincher (2009), our own immunocytochemistry shows (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan is indeed in the Golgi membrane in 2-d-old coleoptiles, when rapid growth is just beginning. However, we are unable to detect the β-glucan in Golgi after the peak rate of elongation. We pulse labeled maize (Zea mays) seedlings with radiolabeled CO₂ and followed the fate of label captured by photosynthesis and translocated to elongating cells at the base of the seedling. We found by flotation centrifugation that Golgi membranes contain (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan of at least 250 kD, similar to that of the product of in vitro synthesis at optimal UDP-Glc concentrations and commercial preparations of barley (Hordeum vulgare) endosperm (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucan (Gibeaut and Carpita, 1993; Buckeridge et al., 1999, 2001; Urbanowicz et al., 2004). When polysaccharides are extracted sequentially from the cell walls by hot ammonium oxalate, and increasing concentrations of NaOH to 4 m, the (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans are found mostly in the higher concentrations of alkali fractions. While 250 kD polymers are observed, most of the (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans eluted in fractions containing glucuronoarabinoxylans (GAXs), which are much larger, indicating either that an aggregation with GAXs increase the apparent size or that trans-glucosylation events increase the degree of polymerization of the (1→3),(1→4)-β-d-glucans.     

New 4-deoxy-(1→3)-β-D-glucan-based oligosaccharides and their immunostimulating potential

(1→3)-β-D-Glucans are well-established natural biological immunomodulators. However, problems inherited with the natural origin of these polysaccharides bring about significant setbacks, including batch-to-batch heterogeneity and significant differences based on the source and isolation techniques. In this study, we tried to overcome these problems by preparation of a quantitatively new set of oligo-(1→3)-β-D-glucan-based synthetic immunomodulators. Some of these non-natural oligosaccharides showed biological activities, such as stimulation of phagocytosis, modulation of gene expression, and anti-cancer activity, which were superior to natural glucans.     

Purification and properties of endo-(1→4)-β-d-glucanase from Ruminococcus albus

An enzyme active against O-(carboxymethyl)cellulose (CMC) was purified from a synthetic medium containing ball-milled cellulose wherein Ruminococcus albus had been cultivated for 70 h. After 570-fold purification, a homogeneous enzyme was obtained in a yield of 3%. The enzyme degraded CMC (molecular weight, 180,000; degree of substitution, 0.6) to a smaller polymer having a molecular weight of ∼20,000, and generated a small proportion of glucose, but negligible proportions of such cello-saccharides as cellobiose, cellotriose, cellotetraose, or cellopentaose. The fact that the enzyme could produce water-insoluble fragments was discovered by dissolving substrate and products in Cadoxen solution. No water-soluble cello-oligomers were detected by thin-layer chromatography after degradation of water-insoluble cellulose by the purified enzyme. Therefore, the enzyme was classified as an endo-(1→4)-β-d-glucanase.     

Expression sites and developmental regulation of genes encoding (1→3,1→4)-β-glucanases in germinated barley

Expression sites of genes encoding (13,14)--glucan 4-glucanohydrolase (EC 3.2.1.73) have been mapped in germinated barley grains (Hordeum vulgare L.) by hybridization histochemistry. A³²P-labelled cDNA (copy DNA) probe was hybridized to cryosections of intact barley grains to localize complementary mRNAs. No mRNA encoding (13,14)--glucanase is detected in ungerminated grain. Expression of (13,14)--glucanase genes is first detected in the scutellum after 1 d and is confined to the epithelial layer. At this stage, no expression is apparent in the aleurone. After 2 d, levels of (13,14)--glucanase mRNA decrease in the scutellar epithelium but increase in the aleurone. In the aleurone layer, induction of (13,14)--glucanase gene expression, as measured by mRNA accumulation, progresses from the proximal to distal end of the grain as a front moving away from, and parallel to, the face of the scutellum.Abbreviations cDNA copy DNA - RNase ribonuclease     

Probe design and synthesis of Galβ(1→3)[NeuAcα(2→6)]GlcNAcβ(1→2)Man motif of N-glycan

Synthesis and clusterization of Galβ(1→3)[NeuAcα(2→6)]GlcNAcβ(1→2)Man motif of the N-glycan, as the molecular probes for their biological evaluation, are reported. Key step is the quantitative and the completely α-selective sialylation of the C5-azide N-phenyltrifluoroacetimidate with the disaccharide acceptor, Galβ(1→3)GlcNTroc. Clusterization of the 16 molecules of trisaccharide motif was also achieved by the ‘self-activating click reaction’. These probes could efficiently be labeled by biotin and/or other fluorescence- or radioactive reporter groups through either cross metathesis, acylation, Cu(I)-mediated Huisgen [2+3]-cycloaddition, or the azaelectrocyclization to utilize the various biological techniques.     

β-D-(1→4), β-D-(1→3) 'mixed linkage' xylans from red seaweeds of the order Nemaliales and Palmariales

Xylans from five seaweeds belonging to the order Nemaliales (Galaxaura marginata, Galaxaura obtusata, Tricleocarpacylindrica, Tricleocarpa fragilis, and Scinaia halliae) and one of the order Palmariales (Palmaria palmata) collected on the Brazilian coasts were extracted with hot water and purified from acid xylomannans and/or xylogalactans through Cetavlon precipitation of the acid polysaccharides. The β-D-(1→4), β-D-(1→3) 'mixed linkage' structures were determined using methylation analysis and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The presence of large sequences of β-(1→4)-linked units suggests transient aggregates of ribbon- or helical-ordered structures that would explain the low optical rotations.     

Curdlan and other bacterial (1→3)-β-d-glucans

Three structural classes of (13)--d-glucans are encountered in some important soil-dwelling, plant-associated or human pathogenic bacteria. Linear (13)--glucans and side-chain-branched (13,12)--glucans are major constituents of capsular materials, with roles in bacterial aggregation, virulence and carbohydrate storage. Cyclic (13,16)--glucans are predominantly periplasmic, serving in osmotic adaptation. Curdlan, the linear (13)--glucan from Agrobacterium, has unique rheological and thermal gelling properties, with applications in the food industry and other sectors. This review includes information on the structure, properties and molecular genetics of the bacterial (13)--glucans, together with an overview of the physiology and biotechnology of curdlan production and applications of this biopolymer and its derivatives.     

Enzymic synthesis of O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-d-galactose

1. The enzymic synthesis of O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-d-galactose has been described and evidence for the structure presented. 2. It has been shown that the transglycosylase of A. niger provides a convenient means of synthesizing (1→6)-linked disaccharides.     

β-D-Glycan synthases and the CesA gene family: lessons to be learned from the mixed-linkage (1→3),(1→4)β-D-glucan synthase

Cellulose synthase genes (CesAs) encode a broad range of processive glycosyltransferases that synthesize (14)-D-glycosyl units. The proteins predicted to be encoded by these genes contain up to eight membrane-spanning domains and four `U-motifs' with conserved aspartate residues and a QxxRW motif that are essential for substrate binding and catalysis. In higher plants, the domain structure includes two plant-specific regions, one that is relatively conserved and a second, so-called `hypervariable region' (HVR). Analysis of the phylogenetic relationships among members of the CesA multi-gene families from two grass species,Oryza sativa and Zea mays, with Arabidopsis thaliana and other dicotyledonous species reveals that the CesA genes cluster into several distinct sub-classes. Whereas some sub-classes are populated by CesAs from all species, two sub-classes are populated solely by CesAs from grass species. The sub-class identity is primarily defined by the HVR, and the sequence in this region does not vary substantially among members of the same sub-class. Hence, we suggest that the region is more aptly termed a `class-specific region' (CSR). Several motifs containing cysteine, basic, acidic and aromatic residues indicate that the CSR may function in substrate binding specificity and catalysis. Similar motifs are conserved in bacterial cellulose synthases, the Dictyostelium discoideum cellulose synthase, and other processive glycosyltransferases involved in the synthesis of non-cellulosic polymers with (14)-linked backbones, including chitin, heparan, and hyaluronan. These analyses re-open the question whether all the CesA genes encode cellulose synthases or whether some of the sub-class members may encode other non-cellulosic (14)-glycan synthases in plants. For example, the mixed-linkage (13)(14)-D-glucan synthase is found specifically in grasses and possesses many features more similar to those of cellulose synthase than to those of other -linked cross-linking glycans. In this respect, the enzymatic properties of the mixed-linkage -glucan synthases not only provide special insight into the mechanisms of (14)-glycan synthesis but may also uncover the genes that encode the synthases themselves.