Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Experimental Screening Protocols, Immunocytochemistry and Microscopy-based Imaging Techniques for Penium margaritaceum
Published on: March 28, 2025
The cell wall-associated kinases, WAKs, as pectin receptors
Bruce D Kohorn1, Susan L Kohorn
1Biology Department, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME, USA.
Abstract:
The wall-associated kinases, WAKs, are encoded by five highly similar genes clustered in a 30-kb locus in Arabidopsis. These receptor-like proteins contain a cytoplasmic serine threonine kinase, a transmembrane domain, and a less conserved region that is bound to the cell wall and contains a series of epidermal growth factor repeats. Evidence is emerging that WAKs serve as pectin receptors, for both short oligogalacturonic acid fragments generated during pathogen exposure or wounding, and for longer pectins resident in native cell walls. This ability to bind and respond to several types of pectins correlates with a demonstrated role for WAKs in both the pathogen response and cell expansion during plant development.
Related Concept Videos
Cellulose and Pectic Polysaccharides
As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to its type. For example, the parenchyma cells of...
Cell Adhesion in Plants
Pectins are complex heteropolymers mainly composed of negatively-charged α-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and some neutral glycosyl residues such as α-L-rhamnopyranose, α-L-arabinofuranose, and...
Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition
Cell Signaling in Plants
Plant Cell Wall
Plant Cell Wall

