Peptide Signalling in Plants

In multicellular organisms, cell to cell communication is essential for co-ordinating the growth and differentiation. In animals, signalling peptides are known to be the major players in neural communication (for review, see Alberts et al., 1994，Molecular Biology of the Cell). This is in contrast to plants in which most intercellular communication is mediated by phytohormones such as auxin, cytokinin, GA, ABA, ethylene and brassinosteroids (Kende et al., 1997, Plant Cell 9:1197-1210; Mandave et al., 1988, Annu. Rev. Plant Phys. Plant Mol. Biol. 39:23-52). In recent years, several putative peptide ligands have been identified in plants (Ryan et al., 2002; Lindsey et al., 2002) and have been shown to mediate signalling events during plant-pathogen interactions (Pearce et al., 1992), cell division (Matsubayashi et al., 1996) and anther-stigma interactions (Schopfer et al., 1999; Kim et al., 2003).

 In our lab, we intend to understand how CLV3 and other genes in the same family, such as CLE19, function in plants.  We have showed that CLE 19 is expressed in the differentiating cells, such as the periphery of shoot apical mierstem. Over-expression of CLE19 leads to the consumption of the root meristems (Fiers et al., 2004).  In collaboration with the Scheres lab in Utrecht, we have discovered two genetic loci, SOL1 and SOL2, that could lead to the suppression of the over-expression phenotype after mutation (Casamitjana-Martinez et al., 2003).  SOL1 was been identified through position cloning, which encodes a carboxylpeptidase, suggesting that CLE19 functions through processed peptides.

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For further information, please contact:
Dr. Chun-Ming Liu
Plant Research International
PO Box 16, 6700 Wageningen
The Netherlands
Tel: 31-317-477330
Fax: 310-317-423110
Email: chunming.liu@wur.nl 

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