Phosphoethanolamine cellulose: A naturally produced chemically modified cellulose

Abstract

A naturally modified cellulose Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth and an important component of bacterial biofilms. Thongsomboon et al. used solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify a naturally derived, chemically modified cellulose, phosphoethanolamine cellulose (see the Perspective by Galperin and Shalaeva). They went on to identify the genetic basis and molecular signaling involved in introducing this modification in bacteria, which regulates biofilm matrix architecture and function. This discovery has implications for understanding bacterial biofilms and for the generation of new cellulosic materials. Science , this issue p. 334 ; see also p. 276