Thomma Bart P H J, Cammue Bruno P A, Thevissen Karin
Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics (CMPG), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Heverlee-Leuven, Belgium.
Planta. 2002 Dec;216(2):193-202. doi: 10.1007/s00425-002-0902-6. Epub 2002 Oct 8.
Plant defensins are small, basic peptides that have a characteristic three-dimensional folding pattern that is stabilized by eight disulfide-linked cysteines. They are termed plant defensins because they are structurally related to defensins found in other types of organism, including humans. To date, sequences of more than 80 different plant defensin genes from different plant species are available. In Arabidopsis thaliana, at least 13 putative plant defensin genes (PDF) are present, encoding 11 different plant defensins. Two additional genes appear to encode plant defensin fusions. Plant defensins inhibit the growth of a broad range of fungi but seem nontoxic to either mammalian or plant cells. Antifungal activity of defensins appears to require specific binding to membrane targets. This review focuses on the classification of plant defensins in general and in Arabidopsis specifically, and on the mode of action of plant defensins against fungal pathogens.
植物防御素是一类小的碱性肽，具有由八个二硫键连接的半胱氨酸稳定的特征性三维折叠模式。它们被称为植物防御素，是因为它们在结构上与在包括人类在内的其他类型生物体中发现的防御素相关。迄今为止，已有来自不同植物物种的80多种不同植物防御素基因的序列。在拟南芥中，至少存在13个推定的植物防御素基因（PDF），编码11种不同的植物防御素。另外两个基因似乎编码植物防御素融合蛋白。植物防御素能抑制多种真菌的生长，但对哺乳动物细胞或植物细胞似乎无毒。防御素的抗真菌活性似乎需要与膜靶点特异性结合。本文综述了植物防御素的一般分类，特别是拟南芥中的分类，以及植物防御素对真菌病原体的作用方式。
