Using chemical genetic screening, we discovered a small molecule Cellulosin (aka endosidin20 or ES20) that causes cell swollen and inhibits plant growth, but does not disrupt global vesicle trafficking. By doing mutant screening, we obtained multiple alleles of Arabidopsis thaliana that are resistant to Cellulosin inhibition in growth. Those mutated amino acid residues are conserved across plant species. Cellulosin targets a group of cellulose synthases (CesAs) of Arabidopsis thaliana by binding to a conserved domain essential for the catalytic activity of CesA. Cellulosin may target and inhibit all subtypes of CesAs in plants. The present invention relates to Cellulosin, a cellulose synthase inhibitor, its analogs or derivatives as a broad-spectrum herbicide. The mutated genes, their protein products and a cell or a plant having those mutated genes or expressing those protein products are within the scope of this disclosure.

Described herein are biological devices and methods for using the same to produce carbo sugars. The biological devices include microbial cells transformed with a DNA construct containing genes for producing a cellulose synthase and galactomannan galactosyltransferase. In some instances, the biological devices also include a gene for lipase. Methods for altering the viscosity of petroleum oil using the carbo sugars are also described herein. Finally, methods for degreasing or decontaminating water mixed with petroleum oil or other fatty substances or a surface coated with petroleum oil or other fatty substances using the carbo sugars are described herein.

Using chemical genetic screening, we discovered a small molecule Cellulosin (aka endosidin20 or ES20) that causes cell swollen and inhibits plant growth, but does not disrupt global vesicle trafficking. By doing mutant screening, we obtained multiple alleles of Arabidopsis thaliana that are resistant to Cellulosin inhibition in growth. Those mutated amino acid residues are conserved across plant species. Cellulosin targets a group of cellulose synthases (CesAs) of Arabidopsis thaliana by binding to a conserved domain essential for the catalytic activity of CesA. Cellulosin may target and inhibit all subtypes of CesAs in plants. The present invention relates to Cellulosin, a cellulose synthase inhibitor, its analogs or derivatives as a broad-spectrum herbicide. The mutated genes, their protein products and a cell or a plant having those mutated genes or expressing those protein products are within the scope of this disclosure.

The present invention refers to a plant or plant part comprising a polynucleotide encoding a wildtype or mutated cellulose synthase (CESA) polypeptide, the expression of said polynucleotide confers to the plant or plant part tolerance to CESA-inhibiting herbicides, such as azines.

The present disclosure relates to the production of oligosaccharides, especially Human milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) using a genetically engineered cell which has decreased or total loss of function of phosphoglycerol transferase I and II and/or phosphoethanolamine transferase and/or glucans biosynthesis protein C to reduce oligosaccharide by-products and/or increase oligosaccharide production.