Author： Grover Anita
Publisher： Taylor & Francis Ltd
ISSN： 0735-2689
Source： Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, Vol.31, Iss.1, 2012-01, pp. : 57-73
Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.
Abstract
Chitinase proteins are widely distributed across diverse biological systems. Chitinases hydrolyze chitin, chitosan, lipochitooligosaccharides, peptidoglycan, arabinogalactan and glycoproteins containing N-acetylglucosamine. Analyses of genome-wide sequence and microarray expression profilings show that chitinase genes are represented by large families and the individual member genes are expressed in diverse conditions. Chitinase proteins are members in the group of the pathogenesis-related proteins that are strongly induced when host plant cells are challenged by pathogen stress and thus chitinases constitute an important arsenal of plants against fungal pathogens. Transgenic plants have been produced that overexpress chitinases alone or in conjunction with other defense-related proteins. The phenotype analyses of such plants have shown enhanced disease resistance in large number of cases. Apart from defense against pathogen stress, chitinases are implicated in relationships between plant cells and fungi (e.g., mycorrhizae associations) and bacteria (e.g., legume/
Related content
By Ashraf M. Akram N. A. Arteca R. N. Foolad M. R.
Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, Vol. 29, Iss. 3, 2010-05 ,pp. :
Access to resources
Recommend
Mechanisms Regulating Epiphytic Plant Diversity
By Bartels Samuel F. Chen Han Y. H.
Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, Vol. 31, Iss. 5, 2012-09 ,pp. :