title: Protein diffusion in plant cell plasma membranes: the cell-wall corral.
abstract: Studying protein diffusion informs us about how proteins interact with their environment. Work on protein diffusion over the last several decades has illustrated the complex nature of biological lipid bilayers. The plasma membrane contains an array of membrane-spanning proteins or proteins with peripheral membrane associations. Maintenance of plasma membrane microstructure can be via physical features that provide intrinsic ordering such as lipid microdomains, or from membrane-associated structures such as the cytoskeleton. Recent evidence indicates, that in the case of plant cells, the cell wall seems to be a major player in maintaining plasma membrane microstructure. This interconnection / interaction between cell-wall and plasma membrane proteins most likely plays an important role in signal transduction, cell growth, and cell physiological responses to the environment.
authors.affiliation: Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Université Montpellier 2 Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martinière
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Runions
keywords: cell wall; corral; cytoskeleton; diffusion; lateral mobility; plasma membrane microdomains