title: Signalling by tips.
abstract: New molecules, including protein kinases, lipids and molecules that have neurotransmitter activities in animals have emerged as important players in tip-growing cells. Transcriptomics analysis reveals that the largest single class of genes expressed in pollen tubes encode signal transducers, reflecting the necessity to decode complex and diverse pathways that are associated with tip growth. Many of these pathways may use common intracellular second messengers, with ions and reactive oxygen species emerging as two major common denominators in many of the processes involved in tip growth. These second messengers might influence the actin cytoskeleton through known interactions with actin-binding proteins. In turn, changes in the dynamic properties of the cytoskeleton would define the basic polarity events needed to shape and modify tip-growing cells.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biologia do Desenvolvimento, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, P-2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal. jfijo@fc.ul.pt
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Feijó
authors.forename: Sílvia S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Ana Margarida
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Prado
authors.forename: Jörg D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Ana Catarina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Certal
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D017343:Genes, Plant; D027762:Lilium / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid