Personal Details |
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Name | : Dr. Zoë Adelaide Popper | |
Nationality | : British | |
Former positions in Group | : PhD student and postdoctoral researcher |
Zoë Popper is a lecturer and group leader at the Botany and Plant Science, School of Natural Sciences,
Institute for Environment, Marine and Energy, NUI Galway:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/botany/popper_home.html
The major hemicellulose in Dicot plants is called xyloglucan. Xyloglucan adheres via hydrogen-bonds to the cellulosic microfibrils of the cell wall and probably tethers neighbouring microfibrils. Albersheim et al. (1973) suggested that xyloglucan molcules are covalently linked via glycosidic bonds to other polymers of the cell wall, especially pectins. Although this model lost favour, recent data suggest that about 30% of the xyloglucan in rose cell cultures is linked to pectins (Thompson and Fry 2000). My project involves a study of the chemical nature of the xyloglucan-pectin linkages, their taxonomic distribution, their site of formation within the cell and their possible turnover.
Additionally I am continuing to investigate the differences in the chemical composition between cell walls from different taxonomic groups. This includes investigating which polymers 3-O-Methyl-D-galactose residues (uniquely found abundantly in lycophyte cell walls) are linked.
This project was funded by the BBSRC.