Review: Sulfated plant peptide hormones (J. Exp. Bot)

It’s hard to believe that when I was a student we were taught that “plants don’t have peptide hormones”. Since then we’ve discovered many diverse families of plant peptide hormones (see the Teaching Tool on peptide hormones for an excellent overview). Here, Kaufmann and Sauter review one family, the sulfated peptide hormones. Tyrosine sulfation is irreversible, lends specificity to peptide/receptor interactions, links the hormone’s activity to sulfur metabolism, and requires a plant-specific tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase. There are several types of sulfated peptide hormones that have been identified, including RGFs/GLVs/CLELs (root developmental responses), PSK and PSYs (cell expansion and damage responses), and CIFs (Casparian strip formation). This review updates the functions of each, what is known about their receptors and signaling pathways, and their potential applications. (Summary by Mary Williams) J. Exp. Bot. 10.1093/jxb/erz292