UNASSIGNED: The fine-tuning of the degree of methylesterification of cell wall pectin is a key to regulate cell elongation and ultimately the shape of plant body. Pectin methylesterification is spatio-temporally controlled by pectin methylesterases (PMEs, 66 members in @entity958 ). The comparably large number of proteinaceous pectin methylesterase inhibitors (PMEIs, 76 members in @entity958 ) questions the specificity of the PME-PMEI interaction and the functional role of such abundance. To understand the difference, or redundancy, between PMEIs, we used @entity74 ( @entity74 ) to predict the behaviour of two PMEIs that are co-expressed and have distinct effects on plant development: AtPMEI4 and AtPMEI9. Simulations revealed the structural determinants of the pH- @entity734 for the interaction of these inhibitors with @entity69083 , a major PME expressed in roots. Key residues that are likely to play a role in the pH- @entity734 were identified. The predictions obtained from @entity74 simulations were confirmed in vitro, showing that AtPMEI9 is a stronger, less pH-independent, inhibitor as compared to AtPMEI4. Using pollen tubes as a developmental model, we showed that these biochemical differences have a biological significance. Application of purified proteins at pH ranges in which PMEI inhibition differed between AtPMEI4 and AtPMEI9 had distinct consequences on pollen tube elongation. @entity74 simulations have therefore proven to be powerful tool to predict functional diversity between PMEIs, allowing the discovery of a strategy that may be used by PMEIs to inhibit PMEs in different micro-environmental conditions and paving the way to identify the specific role of PMEIs' diversity in muro.

Combined Experimental and computational approaches reveal distinct pH- XXXX of pectin methyl esterase inhibitors.

@entity958 :: ('3702', 'Species') :: ['Arabidopsis'] @entity69083 :: ('820651(Tax:3702)', 'Gene') :: ['AtPME3'] @entity734 :: ('MESH:D019966', 'Disease') :: ['dependence'] @entity74 :: ('MESH:D030342', 'Disease') :: ['Molecular Dynamics', 'MD']
@entity734 :: (MESH:D019966,Disease) :: ['dependence']
