CELL SIGNALING BY OLIGOSACCHARIDES

Only recently has it begun to be understood how plants use the structu ral diversity of oIigosaccharides to regulate important cellular proce sses such as growth, development and defence. A characteristic feature of these regulatory molecules is that they are biologically active at extremely low concentrations. A central remaining question is how cel ls perceive and transduce oligosaccharide signals, and current researc h is aimed at providing the answer.