Towards Understanding Plant Calcium Signaling through Calmodulin-Like Proteins: A Biochemical and Structural Perspective.

ABSTRACT: Ca2+ ions play a key role in a wide variety of environmental responses and developmental processes in plants, and several protein families with Ca2+-binding domains have evolved to meet these needs, including calmodulin (CaM) and calmodulin-like proteins (CMLs). These proteins have no catalytic activity, but rather act as sensor relays that regulate downstream targets. While CaM is well-studied, CMLs remain poorly characterized at both the structural and functional levels, even if they are the largest class of Ca2+ sensors in plants. The major structural theme in CMLs consists of EF-hands, and variations in these domains are predicted to significantly contribute to the functional versatility of CMLs. Herein, we focus on recent advances in understanding the features of CMLs from biochemical

SUBMITTER: La Verde V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5983762 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature