Department of Biochemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2063, USA.
Annu Rev Genet. 2010;44:337-63. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genet-102209-163508.
The processes underlying lignification, which for many years have been the near-exclusive purview of chemists and biochemists, have more recently been approached using both classical forward genetic screens and targeted reverse genetic approaches such as antisense suppression, RNAi, and characterization of insertional mutants. In this review, we provide an overview of the current understanding of lignin biosynthesis and structure, with emphasis on mutant and transgenic plants that have contributed to this knowledge. We also discuss ongoing work aimed at elucidating the relationship between lignin structure and function in vivo, as well as the phenotypic consequences arising from genetic manipulation of the lignin biosynthetic pathway.
木质化的过程，多年来一直是化学家及生物化学家的专属领域，最近也采用了经典正向遗传学筛选和靶向反向遗传学方法，如反义抑制、RNAi 和插入突变体的鉴定。在这篇综述中，我们提供了木质素生物合成和结构的最新理解概述，重点介绍了对这些知识有贡献的突变体和转基因植物。我们还讨论了目前旨在阐明木质素结构与体内功能之间关系的工作，以及遗传操作木质素生物合成途径所产生的表型后果。
