title: Non-specific lipid transfer proteins in plants: presenting new advances and an integrated functional analysis.
abstract: Plant non-specific lipid-transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are small, basic proteins present in abundance in higher plants. They are involved in key processes of plant cytology, such as the stablization of membranes, cell wall organization, and signal transduction. nsLTPs are also known to play important roles in resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, and in plant growth and development, such as sexual reproduction, seed development and germination. The structures of plant nsLTPs contain an eight-cysteine residue conserved motif, linked by four disulfide bonds, and an internal hydrophobic cavity, which comprises the lipid-binding site. This structure endows stability and increases the ability to bind and/or carry hydrophobic molecules. There is growing interest in nsLTPs, due to their critical roles, resulting in the need for a comprehensive review of their form and function. Relevant topics include: nsLTP structure and biochemical features, their classification, identification, and characterization across species, sub-cellular localization, lipid binding and transfer ability, expression profiling, functionality, and evolution. We present advances, as well as limitations and trends, relating to the different topics of the nsLTP gene family. This review collates a large body of research pertaining to the role of nsLTPs across the plant kingdom, which has been integrated as an in depth functional analysis of this group of proteins as a whole, and their activities across multiple biochemical pathways, based on a large number of reports. This review will enhance our understanding of nsLTP activity in planta, prompting further work and insights into the roles of this multifaceted protein family in plants.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Oil Crop Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Life Science and Technology Center, China National Seed Group Co. Ltd., Wuhan 430206, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Oil Crop Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Changming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Oil Crop Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Oil Crop Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Yunjing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology, Ecology and Genetic Breeding, Ministry of Education, Agronomy College, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China.
authors.forename: Donghui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Oil Crop Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture, Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, China wugang@caas.cn.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; C072087:sterol carrier proteins
keywords: Classification; evolution; gene expression; nsLTP; protein function; sub-cellular localization.