Protein phosphatases: a genomic outlook to understand their function in plants

Protein phosphatases are the vital regulatory components of various signal transduction pathways in eukaryotes. Signaling pathways triggered during stress and development have been regulated by different classes of protein phosphatases in plants. Recently, genome-wide expressional analysis in Arabidopsis and crop plant such as rice revealed differential expression pattern for several protein phosphatases under different abiotic stresses, in various tissues and at different developmental stages. This expression pattern could be extrapolated to the possible function of protein phosphatases in abiotic stress signaling and tolerance, and during plant development. Here, we discuss organisation and expression patterns of members of the protein phosphatase gene family, and their potential functional role in plants.