Prime Time for Cellulose

Plants cannot survive without cellulose, the primary constituent of their cell walls. Although some of the subunits composing the rosette-shaped cellulose synthase--the enzyme complex that synthesizes cellulose--have been identified, the biochemical steps in the initiation, elongation, and termination of the glucan chain are still something of a mystery. In their Perspective, [Read and Bacic][1] discuss new work ([ Peng et al .][2]) that reveals the identity of the lipid primer that initiates synthesis of the glucan chain. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5552/59 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/295/5552/147