关键词:
boron
function
structure
essentiality
membrane
uptake
transport
cell wall
reproduction
摘要:
The interest of biologists in boron (B) has largely been focused on its role in plants for which B was established as essential in 1923 (Warington, 1923([153])). Evidence that B has a biological role in other organisms was first indicated by the establishment of essentiality of B for diatoms (Smyth and Dugger, 1981([138])) and cyanobacteria (Bonilla et al., 1990([14]);Garcia-Gonzalez et al., 1991([44]);Bonilla et al., 1997([16])). Recently, B was shown to stimulate growth in yeast (Bennett et al., 1999([8])) and to be essential for zebrafish (Danio rerio) (Eckhert and Rowe, 1999([33]);Rowe and Eckhert, 1999([121])) and possibly for trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (Eckhert, 1998([32]);Rowe et al., 1998([120])), frogs (Xenopus laevis) (Fort et al., 1998([41])) and mouse (Lanoue et al., 2000([75])). There is also preliminary evidence to suggest that B has at least a beneficial role in humans (Nielsen, 2000([96])). While research into the role of B in plants has been ongoing for 80 years it has only been in the past 5 years that the first function of B in plants has been defined. Boron is now known to be essential for cell wall structure and function, likely through its role as a stabilizer of the cell wall pectic network and subsequent regulation of cell wall pore size. A role for B in plant cell walls, however, is inadequate to explain all of the effects of B deficiency seen in plants. The suggestion that B plays a broader role in biology is supported by the discovery that B is essential for animals where a cellulose-rich cell wall is not present. Careful consideration of the physical and chemical properties of B in biological systems, and of the experimental data from both plants and animals suggests that B plays a critical role in membrane structure and hence function. Verification of B association with membranes would represent an important advance in modern biology. For several decades there has been uncertainty as to the mechanisms of B uptake and transport within pl