New genes and new biological roles for expansins

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

167 Scopus citations

Abstract

Expansins are extracellular proteins that loosen plant cell walls in novel ways. They are thought to function in cell enlargement, pollen tube invasion of the stigma (in grasses), wall disassembly during fruit ripening, abscission and other cell separation events. Expansins are encoded by two multigene families and each gene is often expressed in highly specific locations and cell types. Structural analysis indicates that one expansin region resembles the catalytic domain of family-45 endoglucanases but glucanase activity has not been detected. The genome projects have revealed numerous expansin-related sequences but their putative wall-loosening functions remain to be assessed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)73-78
Number of pages6
JournalCurrent Opinion in Plant Biology
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2000

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Plant Science

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