Cell–cell communication during development and reproduction in plants depends largely on a few phytohormones and many diverse classes of polymorphic secreted peptides. The peptide ligands are bound at the cell surface of target cells by their membranous interaction partners representing, in most cases, either receptor-like kinases or ion channels. Although knowledge of both the extracellular ligand and its corresponding receptor(s) is necessary to describe the downstream signalling pathway(s), to date only a few ligand–receptor pairs have been identified. Several methods, such as affinity purification and yeast two-hybrid screens, have been used very successfully to elucidate interactions between soluble proteins, but most of these methods cannot be applied to membranous proteins. Experimental obstacles such as low concentration and poor solubility of membrane receptors, as well as instable transient interactions, often hamper the use of these ‘classical’ approaches. However, over the last few years, a lot of progress has been made to overcome these problems by combining classical techniques with new methodologies. In the present article, we review the most promising recent methods in identifying cell-surface receptor interactions, with an emphasis on success stories outside the field of plant research.
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April 2014
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Conference Article|
March 20 2014
Identifying plant cell-surface receptors: combining ‘classical’ techniques with novel methods
Susanne Uebler;
Susanne Uebler
1
*Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, Biochemie-Zentrum Regensburg, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (emailsusanne1.uebler@biologie.uni-regensburg.de).
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Thomas Dresselhaus
Thomas Dresselhaus
*Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry, Biochemie-Zentrum Regensburg, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
October 31 2013
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2014 Biochemical Society
2014
Biochem Soc Trans (2014) 42 (2): 395–400.
Article history
Received:
October 31 2013
Citation
Susanne Uebler, Thomas Dresselhaus; Identifying plant cell-surface receptors: combining ‘classical’ techniques with novel methods. Biochem Soc Trans 1 April 2014; 42 (2): 395–400. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20130251
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