By
contrast, in the Golgi apparatus where the N-glycans acquire
their final composition (referred to as complex N-glycans)
N-glycan processing steps differ substantially in eukaryotes.
A large variety of structurally and functionally diverse complex
oligosaccharides are generated in the Golgi in mammals.
In different plant species, on the other hand, only a limited
number of complex N-glycan structures have been reported so
far (Wilson et al., 2001). An outstanding question is therefore
whether the reduced structural diversity of Golgi-processed
N-glycans in plants also leads to fundamental differences in
the biological role of these protein-linked carbohydrates