Plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins: An overview

13 Pág.
Plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are usually defined as small, basic proteins, with a wide distribution in all orders of higher plants. Structurally, nsLTPs contain a conserved motif of eight cysteines, linked by four disulphide bonds, and a hydrophobic cavity in which the ligand is housed. This structure confers stability and enhances the ability to bind and transport a variety of hydrophobic molecules. Their highly conserved structural resemblance but low sequence identity reflects the wide variety of ligands they can carry, as well as the broad biological functions to which they are linked to, such as membrane stabilization, cell wall organization and signal transduction. In addition, they have also been described as essential in resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, plant growth and development, seed development, and germination. Hence, there is growing interest in this family of proteins for their critical roles in plant development and for the many unresolved questions that need to be clarified, regarding their subcellular localization, transfer capacity, expression profile, biological function, and evolution.
KM was supported through funding by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia (CP_2019–2022), ZGK was funded by the Community of Madrid (FOODAL-CM_S2018/BAAA-4574). DPC was granted by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and Banco Santander for a predoctoral Programa Propio grant. GHR was funded by European Commission (H2020-NMBP-X-KET-2017-768641 AllerScreening). JTA was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) co-founded by FEDER Thematic Networks and Cooperative Research Centers: ARADYAL (RD16/0006/0003). This work was also funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (LISSENTRA; PID2020-113629RB-I00).