ALTERED GROWTH AND CELL-WALLS IN A FUCOSE-DEFICIENT MUTANT OF ARABIDOPSIS

A biochemical screening procedure was developed to identify mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana in which the polysaccharide composition of the c ell wall was altered. Over 5000 ethyl methanesulfonate-mutagenized pla nts were analyzed by this method, leading to the identification of 38 mutant lines. One complementation group of mutants was completely defi cient in L-fucose, a constituent of pectic and hemicellulosic polysacc harides. These mutant plants were dwarfed in growth habit, and their c ell walls were considerably more fragile than normal.