PagCOBL5 Integrates Transcriptional and Spatial Cues to Confer G-Layer Deposition in Poplar.

PagCOBL5 is required for normal gelatinous (G) layer deposition in hybrid poplar tension wood, with knockout mutants showing significantly thinner G-layer phenotypes.

• Why it matters: The molecular control of G-layer formation in angiosperm tension wood is poorly understood, limiting insight into how cellulose deposition is coordinated with stem reorientation under mechanical stress.
• What they did: In hybrid poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa), PagCOBL5 was functionally characterized by upstream regulation and protein interaction mapping, including PagCESA8b binding and PagLBD21/PagLBD25 negative regulation.
• The result: Mechanical stress caused impaired negative gravitropism and thinner G-layer phenotypes in cobl5 knockout mutants, which were reversed by PagCOBL5 overexpression, linking PagCOBL5 recruitment of the cellulose synthase complex to G-layer formation.

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