Chenmin Yang

We will use RNAi and artificial microRNA (amiRNA) strategy to silence the xylem specific cellulose synthase genes to understand their function during cellulose biosynthesis. Based on the nucleotide sequence of xylem specific cellulose synthase genes in Populus trichocarpa, primers will be designed make RNAi and amiRNA construct. In the RNAi construct, a length of 300~400bp fragment will be inserted into the binary vector in a inverted repeat (IR) pattern. The three RNAi constructs will be silence ptCesA4, ptCesA7/17 and ptCesA8/18, respectively. Two amiRNA constructs will be constructed to specifically silence ptCesA7 and ptCesA17, individually. The 5 constructs will be transformed in P.Trichocarpa by agrobacterium mediated method following the protocols established in our lab.