Ridley B L, O'Neill M A, Mohnen D
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, 220 Riverbend Road, Athens, GA 30602-4712, USA.
Phytochemistry. 2001 Jul;57(6):929-67. doi: 10.1016/s0031-9422(01)00113-3.
Pectin is a family of complex polysaccharides present in all plant primary cell walls. The complicated structure of the pectic polysaccharides, and the retention by plants of the large number of genes required to synthesize pectin, suggests that pectins have multiple functions in plant growth and development. In this review we summarize the current level of understanding of pectin primary and tertiary structure, and describe new methods that may be useful to study localized pectin structure in the plant cell wall. We also discuss progress in our understanding of how pectin is biosynthesized and review the biological activities and possible modes of action of pectic oligosaccharides referred to as oligogalacturonides. We present our view of critical questions regarding pectin structure, biosynthesis, and function that need to be addressed in the coming decade. As the plant community works towards understanding the functions of the tens of thousands of genes expressed by plants, a large number of those genes are likely to be involved in the synthesis, turnover, biological activity, and restructuring of pectin. A combination of genetic, molecular, biochemical and chemical approaches will be necessary to fully understand the function and biosynthesis of pectin.
果胶是一类存在于所有植物初生细胞壁中的复杂多糖。果胶多糖的复杂结构，以及植物保留大量合成果胶所需基因的情况，表明果胶在植物生长发育中具有多种功能。在本综述中，我们总结了目前对果胶一级和三级结构的理解水平，并描述了可能有助于研究植物细胞壁中局部果胶结构的新方法。我们还讨论了在果胶生物合成理解方面的进展，并综述了被称为寡半乳糖醛酸苷的果胶寡糖的生物活性和可能的作用模式。我们提出了关于果胶结构、生物合成和功能的关键问题的观点，这些问题需要在未来十年中得到解决。随着植物学界致力于理解植物表达的数以万计基因的功能，其中大量基因可能参与果胶的合成、周转、生物活性和重塑。要全面理解果胶的功能和生物合成，需要结合遗传、分子、生化和化学方法。
