The present invention relates generally to polysaccharide synthases. More particularly, the present invention relates to (1,3;1,4)-beta-D-glucan synthases. The present invention provides, among other things, methods for influencing the level of (1,3;1,4)-beta-D-glucan produced by a cell and nucleic acid and amino acid sequences which encode (1,3;1,4)-beta-D-glucan synthases.