Organization and Assembly of Plant and Animal Extracellular Matrix

Book excerpt: Organization and Assembly of Plant and Animal Extracellular Matrix presents a state-of-the-art view of some of the experimental systems in plant and animal matrix biology. It discusses certain principles underlying establishment of complex three-dimensional architecture cross broad evolutionary boundaries. The opening chapter reviews studies on the cellular mechanisms responsible for storage, release, assembly, and function of extracellular matrices during early sea urchin development. The subsequent chapters describe the structure, assembly, disassembly, and molecular biology of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cell wall. The chapters also summarize the status of work on basement membrane assembly. Important insights into approaches to identify critical molecular domains and the complexity of relating defined molecular associations to establishment of matrix architecture are provided. A family of discovered cell wall genes that encode protein products containing up to 70% glycine is presented in Chapter 4. This is followed by a discussion on the role of alginate self-assembly in cell wall formation in Fucus. The book goes on to address the issue of protein-carbohydrate recognition with a detailed discussion of plant and animal lectins. Chapter 7 tackles a family of genes encoding higher plant hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) and the relationship between the HRGP genes cloned and their products. The final two chapters are devoted to one of the most important classes of protein modifying enzymes for extracellular matrix formation and function, the prolyl hydroxylases. This book will be of help to workers in plant and animal matrix in understanding information, approaches, and ideas that they may not normally encounter.