Endopolygalacturonase

Full Name

Endopolygalacturonase

Keywords

Endopolygalacturonase; Cell wall-degrading enzymes; CWDEs

Background

Cell wall-degrading enzymes (CWDEs), produced by plant pathogens during penetration and subsequent infection of hosts are thought to play a significant role in pathogenesis. A wide range of activities are attributed to these enzymes, from enzymatic cleavage of structural host cell wall polysaccharides, in which the integrity of the cell wall barrier to pathogen entry is compromised, to more complex roles within the sphere of host pathogen interactions, such as the release of oligosaccharides that function as “elicitors” of plant defense responses. Although the importance of CWDEs to pathogenesis is widely accepted, evidence for any single enzyme being solely responsible for pathogen virulence in a given host/pathogen system has yet to emerge; rather, it appears that multiple enzymatic activities act in concert or succession to achieve successful pathogenesis. These antibodies were developed for the study of endopolygalacturonase, a CWDE expressed by phytopathogenic fungi (and possibly other plant pathogens) and intimately associated with the mechanism of pathogenicity and contamination.