MELBOURNE, Australia,
May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Scientists from IBM Research (NYSE: IBM), the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland have moved a step closer
to identifying the nanostructure of cellulose – the basic
structural component of plant cell walls.
Tapping into the IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer at the Victorian
Life Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI), researchers have been
able to model the structure and dynamics of cellulose at the
molecular level. The insights could pave the way for more disease
resistant varieties of crops and increase the sustainability of the
pulp, paper and fibre industry – one of the main users of
cellulose.
The work, which was described in a recent scientific paper
published in Plant Physiology, represents a significant step
towards our understanding of cellulose biosynthesis and how plant
cell walls assemble and function. The research is part of a
longer-term program to develop a 3D computer simulated model of the
entire plant wall. Globally, IBM is a leader in the field of
computational biology - the interface of information technology and
biology through which scientists are exploring ways to improve crop
yields, increase food traceability and secure supply chains.
Cellulose represents one of the most abundant organic compounds
on earth with an estimated 180 billion tonnes produced by plants
each year. A plant makes cellulose by linking simple units of
glucose together to form chains, which are then bundled together to
form fibres. These fibres then wrap around the cell as the major
component of the plant cell wall, providing rigidity, flexibility
and defence against internal and external stresses. Until now,
scientists have been challenged with detailing the structure of
plant cell walls due to the complexity of the work and the invasive
nature of traditional physical methods which often cause damage to
the plant cells.
"This is a pioneering project through which we are bringing IBM
Research's expertise in computational biology, big data and Smarter
Agriculture to bear in a large-scale, collaborative Australian
science project with some of the brightest minds in the field. We
are a keen supporter of the Victorian Life Sciences Computation
Initiative and we're very excited to see the scientific impact this
work is now having," said Dr. John
Wagner, Manager of Computational Sciences, IBM Research -
Australia.
Using the IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer at VLSCI known as Avoca,
scientists were able to perform the quadrillions of calculations
required to model the motions of cellulose atoms. The research
shows that within the cellulose structure, there are between 18 and
24 chains present within an elementary microfibril, much less than
the 36 chains that had previously been assumed.
"Cellulose is a vital part of the plant's structure, but its
synthesis is yet to be fully understood," said Dr. Monika Doblin, Research Fellow & Deputy Node
Leader at the School of BioSciences at the University of
Melbourne. "It is really hard to
work on cellulose synthesis in vitro because once plant cells are
broken open, most of the enzyme activity is lost; so we needed to
find other approaches to study how it is made. Thanks to IBM's
expertise in molecular modelling and VLSCI's computational power,
we have been able to create models of the plant wall at the
molecular level which will lead to new levels of understanding
about the formation of cellulose."
"Plant walls are the first barrier to disease pathogens. While
we don't fully understand the molecular pathway of pathogen
infection and plant response, we are exploring ways to manipulate
the composition of the wall in order to make it more resistant to
disease," said IBM Researcher, Dr. Daniel
Oehme.
The work was undertaken by biologists at the Australian Research
Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls within
the universities of Melbourne and
Queensland, in partnership with
the IBM Research Collaboratory for Life Sciences. Housed in the
University of Melbourne's Victorian
Life Sciences Computation Initiative, the Collaboratory enables IBM
and university researchers to work side by side on research in the
areas of medicine and computational biology.
To download the research paper visit:
http://www.plantphysiol.org/
To find out more about the Australian Research Council Centre of
Excellence in Plant Cell Walls visit:
http://www.plantcellwalls.org.au/
To find out more about the Victorian Life Sciences Computation
Initiative visit: https://www.vlsci.org.au/
About IBM Research
Now in its 70th year, IBM Research
continues to define the future of technology with more than 3,000
researchers in 12 labs located across six continents. IBM Research
breakthroughs helped the company achieve an industry record 7,534
patents in 2014, marking the 22nd consecutive year IBM topped the
annual list of U.S. patent recipients. Scientists from IBM Research
have produced six Nobel Laureates, 10 U.S. National Medals of
Technology, five U.S. National Medals of Science, six Turing
Awards, 19 inductees in the National Academy of Sciences, and 20
inductees in the U.S. National Inventors Hall of Fame. For more
information, visit www.research.ibm.com.
Contacts:
Sandra
McMullan
smullan@au1.ibm.com
+61 416049409
Jonathan Batty
IBM Global Labs
Jonathanb@uk.ibm.com
+44 7880 086571
James Sciales
IBM US
sciales@us.ibm.com
+1 914-945-1402
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SOURCE IBM Research