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Growth control by cell wall pectins

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Abstract

Plant cell growth is controlled by the balance between turgor pressure and the extensibility of the cell wall. Several distinct classes of wall polysaccharides and their interactions contribute to the architecture and the emergent features of the wall. As a result, remarkable tensile strength is achieved without relinquishing extensibility. The control of growth and development does not only require a precisely regulated biosynthesis of cell wall components, but also constant remodeling and modification after deposition of the polymers. This is especially evident given the fact that wall deposition and cell expansion are largely uncoupled. Pectins form a functionally and structurally diverse class of galacturonic acid-rich polysaccharides which can undergo abundant modification with a concomitant change in physicochemical properties. This review focuses on homogalacturonan demethylesterification catalyzed by the ubiquitous enzyme pectin methylesterase (PME) as a growth control module. Special attention is drawn to the recently discovered role of this process in primordial development in the shoot apical meristem.

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Acknowledgments

We apologize to those colleagues whose work could not be cited due to space constraints. SW is recipient of a research fellowship from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG).

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The authors hereby declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin UMR1318 INRA/AgroParisTech, Route de Saint-Cyr, 78026, Versailles, France

    Sebastian Wolf

  2. Center for Organismal Studies (COS) Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 360, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Steffen Greiner

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Correspondence to Steffen Greiner.

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Wolf, S., Greiner, S. Growth control by cell wall pectins. Protoplasma 249 (Suppl 2), 169–175 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-011-0371-5

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