Downregulation of cinnamoyl-coenzyme A reductase in maize (affy_ccr_maize)

affy_ccr_maize - affy_ccr_maize - Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) catalyzes a key step in monolignol biosynthesis. We show that downregulation of CCR in maize was associated with lower lignin content and a strong decrease in H units. Concomitantly, these cell wall modifications were associated with higher digestibility. On another hand, immunocytochemistry indicated a modification of lignification pattern and cellulose content. Transcript profiling was used as comprehensive phenotyping tools to investigate how CCR downregulation impacted metabolism and the biosynthesis of other cell wall polymers. -2 wild type and 2 CCR mutants were compared. Plants were grown in greenhouse condition and harvested at 7-8 leaf stages. Keywords: gene knock in (transgenic) 4 arrays - maize