Peptide Hormones in Higher Plants
高等植物中的多肽激素

Although the first peptide hormone (systemin) in plants has been discovered for more than ten years, till now only four peptides have been accepted as peptide hormones. They are systemin, PSK, CLV3 and SCR, involved in wounding response, cell division, stem cell maintenance in the shoot apical meristem, and the interaction between pollen and stigma, respectively. These small peptides act as ligands to interact with receptor kinases located on the surface of the cytoplasma membrane, triggering downstream signal transductions.In this paper we outline the progresses made in this area, with emphasis on CLV3 peptides. We also provide our prospective vision in this field.