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Abstract
The well-characterized regulatory molecules of plants, abscisic acid, auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, and gibberellin, are pleiotropic. We hypothesize that these five molecules catalyze the release of other, more specific chemical messages. Two research projects of our laboratory team, elucidating the structure and function of the matrix polysaccharides of the walls of growing plant cells, and studying the manner by which plants defend themselves against disease, led us to discover that structurally defined fragments of cell-wall polysaccharides are chemical messages with specific regulatory properties. These regulatory molecules—oligosaccharins—are released from the cell wall by enzymes. This lecture will describe evidence that cell walls are the repository of numerous, different oligosaccharins that can regulate not only triggering of plant defenses against pathogens and other types of stress, but also can regulate rate of growth, and differentiation into roots, flowers, and vegetative buds.