EXPRESSION OF CHITIN SYNTHASE AND CHITIN DEACETYLASE GENES IN PLANTS TO ALTER THE CELL WALL FOR INDUSTRIAL USES AND IMPROVED DISEASE RESISTANCE

摘要

Compositions and methods for producing chitin and chitosan in plants are provided. The compositions comprise plant expression cassettes for chitin synthase, chitin deacetylase, glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase and/or biologically active fragments and variants thereof. Such expression vectors find use in increasing the tensile strength of plant tissues, providing pathogen-resistant plants, and in producing chitin, chitosan, chitin:cellulose blends and chitosan:cellulose blends for industrial uses. Additionally provided are transformed plant cells, plants and seeds.