Patent ID: 8173866

Claim:
A method for altering the level of xylan present in the cell wall of a plant, when compared to a non-transformed plant, the method comprising: (a) introducing into a plant cell a recombinant expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide, wherein said polynucleotide comprises a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of the nucleotide sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:5; a sequence with at least 95% identity to SEQ ID NO:5; and a sequence encoding the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:6, wherein expression of the polynucleotide, alone or in combination with additional polynucleotides, alters the level of xylan, and wherein the polynucleotide is operably linked to a promoter; (b) culturing the plant cell under plant forming conditions to produce a plant; and (c) expressing the polynucleotide for a time sufficient to alter the level of xylan in the cell wall of the plant.