Lights at the end of the tunnel: new views of plasmodesmal structure and function.

David Jackson, Xianfeng Morgan Xu

Journal: Current opinion in plant biology 2011;13(6):684-92

PMID: 20934901

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

Plasmodesmata (PDs), tiny channels connecting neighboring plant cells, play big roles in the transport of metabolites, viral movement, cell fate specification and development. Many recent studies are opening our eyes to the composition and formation of PDs, as well as the function and regulation of trafficking through them. Both proteomic and genetic approaches have revealed the central importance of callose in modulating PD connectivity. Moreover, many new developmental regulators, including transcription factors as well as small RNAs (sRNAs), have been found to be mobile and essential for specifying cell fate and tissue patterning.

Address: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.

DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2010.09.003