The Plant Invertase/Pectin Methylesterase Inhibitor Superfamily. 2022

Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie "C. Darwin", Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.

Invertases (INVs) and pectin methylesterases (PMEs) are essential enzymes coordinating carbohydrate metabolism, stress responses, and sugar signaling. INVs catalyzes the cleavage of sucrose into glucose and fructose, exerting a pivotal role in sucrose metabolism, cellulose biosynthesis, nitrogen uptake, reactive oxygen species scavenging as well as osmotic stress adaptation. PMEs exert a dynamic control of pectin methylesterification to manage cell adhesion, cell wall porosity, and elasticity, as well as perception and signaling of stresses. INV and PME activities can be regulated by specific proteinaceous inhibitors, named INV inhibitors (INVIs) and PME Inhibitors (PMEIs). Despite targeting different enzymes, INVIs and PMEIs belong to the same large protein family named "Plant Invertase/Pectin Methylesterase Inhibitor Superfamily." INVIs and PMEIs, while showing a low aa sequence identity, they share several structural properties. The two inhibitors showed mainly alpha-helices in their secondary structure and both form a non-covalent 1:1 complex with their enzymatic counterpart. Some PMEI members are organized in a gene cluster with specific PMEs. Although the most important physiological information was obtained in Arabidopsis thaliana, there are now several characterized INVI/PMEIs in different plant species. This review provides an integrated and updated overview of this fascinating superfamily, from the specific activity of characterized isoforms to their specific functions in plant physiology. We also highlight INVI/PMEIs as biotechnological tools to control different aspects of plant growth and defense. Some isoforms are discussed in view of their potential applications to improve industrial processes. A review of the nomenclature of some isoforms is carried out to eliminate confusion about the identity and the names of some INVI/PMEI member. Open questions, shortcoming, and opportunities for future research are also presented.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries

Related Publications

Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
April 2020, Physiology and molecular biology of plants : an international journal of functional plant biology,
Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
February 2004, Biochimica et biophysica acta,
Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
May 2010, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry,
Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
March 2002, FEBS letters,
Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
December 2017, The Journal of biological chemistry,
Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
November 2004, Plant cell reports,
Daniele Coculo, and Vincenzo Lionetti
December 2010, Carbohydrate research,
Copied contents to your clipboard!