Abstract:Aspartic proteases are important proteolytic enzymes which are widely distributed in mammals, plants,bacteria and viruses. Recently, more and more family members of aspartic proteases have been identified in plants. The roles of aspartic proteases in plant development have been reported in numerous studies. In this brief review, we highlight the structures and functions of plant aspartic proteases, and also discuss the prospect in underlying the molecular mechanisms involving in aspartic proteases of plants.