A Kind of Plant Cell Wall Expansion Protein-Expansin

Ploysaccharides and proteins are secreted to the inner surface of the growing cell wall,where they assemble into a network that is mechanically strong, yet remains extensive until the cells cease growth.During cell growth,a cell wall protein-expansin was first identified for unlocking the network of polysaccharides, permitting tugor-driven cell enlargement.Expansins are encoded by two multigene families, which are α-expansin and β-expansin multigene families, and each is often expressed in high specific locations and cell types, but latest research also showed that expansins in Arabidopsis can be classified into three subfamilies. More and more expansin genes are identified from all kinds of plant, and phylogenetic analysis suggests that they may evolve from a common ancestral gene.The mechanism of the action of expansins still remains unclear, but based on their specific function, they exhibit a good prospect of application in industry.