title: Plant degradation: a nematode expansin acting on plants.
abstract: Expansin proteins, which have so far been identified only in plants, rapidly induce extension of plant cell walls by weakening the non-covalent interactions that help to maintain their integrity. Here we show that an animal, the plant-parasitic roundworm Globodera rostochiensis, can also produce a functional expansin, which it uses to loosen cell walls when invading its host plant. As this nematode is known to be able to disrupt covalent bonds in plant cell walls, its accompanying ability to loosen non-covalent bonds challenges the prevailing view that animals are genetically poorly equipped to degrade plant cell walls.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nematology, Graduate School of Experimental Plant Sciences, Wageningen University, 6709 PD Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Urszula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kudla
authors.forename: Erwin H A
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Roze
authors.forename: Aska
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goverse
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Popeijus
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nieuwland
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Overmars
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Arjen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schots
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smant
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Helder
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009348:Nematoda / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D059828:Plant Cells; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C095825:expansin protein, plant