The plant Golgi apparatus: a factory for complex polysaccharides and glycoproteins

Abstract

The Golgi apparatus of plant cells serves two major functions: it assembles and processes the oligosaccharide side chains of glycoproteins, and it synthesizes the complex polysaccharides of the cell wall matrix, the hemicelluloses and pectins. The first function is common to plant and animal cells while the second is unique to plants. The recent introduction of novel biochemical and electron microscopical techniques, as well as the production and the application of highly specific anti-glycan antibody probes have led to major advances in understanding the structural and functional organization of plant Golgi stacks.