Plants and the study of serpin biology

Serpins appear to be ubiquitous in the Plant Kingdom and have several unique properties when compared to the substantial number of other families of protease inhibitors in plants. Serpins in plants are likely to have functions distinct from those of animal serpins, partly because plants and animals developed multicellularity independently and partly because most animal serpins are involved in animal-specific processes, such as blood coagulation and the activation of complement. To encourage and facilitate the discovery of plant serpin functions, here we provide a set of protocols for detection of serpins in plant extracts, localization of serpins in plant tissues and cells, purification of serpins from a range of organs from monocot and eudicot plants, production and purification of recombinant plant serpins, and analysis of plant-protease interactions including identification of in vivo target proteases.