REGULATORY ROLE OF BIOPOLYMER AND LIPID DEGRADATION

The present review develops the idea that plants use various intermedi ate products of the hydrolysis of biopolymers (nucleic acids, proteins , cell wall polysaccharides) and lipids as endogenous regulators of di fferent metabolic processes. The products in question include such fra gments as oligonucleotides, oligopeptides, oligosaccharides, and oxyge nated derivatives of unsaturated fatty acids. Many examples of their r egulatory action in plants and animals are cited in the paper.