Figure 4

Cellulose content and cell wall convertibility in transgenic tobacco. The crystalline cellulose content and stem length was analyzed in six-week-old wt and TrCel5A transgenic tobacco plants grown in soil. Asterisks indicate a significant decrease (P ≤ 0.01) in the crystalline cellulose content for TrCel5A_AP compared to wt plants whereas TrCel5A_ER plants show no significant difference (A). Leaf tissue from transgenic tobacco lines TrCel5A_AP and TrCel5A_ER (B). Samples from both lines expressing ~30 mU/mg TSP (based on 4MUC conversion) were hydrolyzed with the appropriate amount of the commercial cellulase preparation [24]. Digestion was carried out at 55°C with constant shaking at 1000 rpm. The TrCel5A_AP leaves showed higher hydrolysis levels than the TrCel5A_ER and wt leaves after 8 h.