Reversible inhibition of secretion in root cap cells of cress after treatment with cytochalasin B. Support for the membrane flow concept

Centrifugation causes adaptation of microfilaments: studies on the transport of statoliths in gravity sensing Chara rhizoids

The actin cytoskeleton is involved in the positioning of statoliths in tip growing Chara rhizoids. The balance between the acropetally acting gravity force and the basipetally acting net outcome of cytoskeletal force results in the dynamically stable position of the statoliths 10-30 micrometers above the cell tip. A change of the direction and/or the amount of one of these forces in a vertically growing rhizoid results in a dislocation of statoliths. Centrifugation was used as a tool to study the characteristics of the interaction between statoliths and microfilaments (MFs). Acropetal and basipetal accelerations up to 6.5 g were applied with the newly constructed slow-rotating-centrifuge-microscope (NIZEMI). Higher accelerations were applied by means of a conventional centrifuge, namely acropetally 10-200 g and basipetally 10-70 g. During acropetal accelerations (1.4-6g), statoliths were displaced to a new stable position nearer to the cell vertex (12-6.5 micrometers distance to the apical cell wall, respectively), but they did not sediment on the apical cell wall. The original position of the statoliths was reestablished within 30 s after centrifugation. Sedimentation of statoliths and reduction of the growth rates of the rhizoids were observed during acropetal accelerations higher than 50 g. When not only the amount but also the direction of the acceleration were changed in comparison to the natural condition, i.e., during basipetal accelerations (1.0-6.5 g), statoliths were displaced into the subapical zone (up to 90 micrometers distance to the apical cell wall); after 15-20 min the retransport of statoliths to the apex against the direction of acceleration started. Finally, the natural position in the tip was reestablished against the direction of continuous centrifugation. Retransport was observed during accelerations up to 70 g. Under the 1 g condition that followed the retransported statoliths showed an up to 5-fold increase in sedimentation time onto the lateral cell wall when placed horizontally. During basipetal centrifugations > or = 70 g all statoliths entered the basal vacuolar part of the rhizoid where they were cotransported in the streaming cytoplasm. It is concluded that the MF system is able to adapt to higher mass accelerations and that the MF system of the polarly growing rhizoid is polarly organized.

The polar organization of the growing Chara rhizoid and the transport of statoliths are actin-dependent

Horizontally positioned Chara rhizoids continue growth without gravitropic bending when the statoliths are removed from the apex by basipetal centrifugation. The transport of statoliths in centrifuged rhizoids is bidirectional: 50-60% of the statoliths are retransported on a straight course to the apex at velocities from 1 to 14 micrometers min-1, increasing towards the rhizoid tip The centrifuged statoliths which are located closest to the nucleus are basipetally transported and caught up in the cytoplasmic streaming of the cell. Those statoliths which are located near the apical side of the nucleus are transported either apically or basally. A de-novo-formation of statoliths was not observed. After retransport to the apex some statoliths transiently sediment, a process which can induce a local inhibition of cell wall growth. The rhizoid bends again gravitropically only if a few statoliths finally sediment in the apex; the more statoliths that sediment in the apex the shorter the radius of bending becomes. The transport of statoliths is mediated by actin filaments which form a network of thin filaments in the apical and subapical zone of the rhizoid, and thicker parallel bundles in the basal zone where cytoplasmic streaming occurs. Both subpopulations of actin filaments overlap in the nucleus zone.

Cytodifferentiation of polar plant cells: formation and turnover of endoplasmic reticulum in root statocytes

By application of cytochalasin D (10 micrograms/ml) the distribution and turnover of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in root statocytes of cress (Lepidium sativum L.) was studied. After 7 min of incubation, the distal ER complex, in 20-h-old control statocytes consisting of stacked cisternae, was disintegrated and redistributed. The amyloplasts sedimented into the most distal part of the cell. When the incubation time was increased up to 4 h, ER was formed near the nucleus and accumulated at the proximal cell pole. Thus microfilaments are suggested to be involved in (i) stabilization of the distal ER complex and (ii) the ER translocation from the forming site into the distal cell pole. By morphometric measurements the volume of story II (story III) statocytes was calculated to be 2400 microns3 (3000 microns3), containing an ER area of 1824 microns2 (2400 microns2). From the net ER formation rate of 5.2 microns2/min (story II) and 4.6 microns2/min (story III) and the net decrease rate of 23 microns2/min (story II) and 39.2 microns2/min (story III), a total ER formation rate of about 27 microns2/min (story II) and 43 microns2/min (story III) was estimated.

Effects of microfilament disrupters on microfilament distribution and morphology in maize root cells

Maize root tip cells were examined for the distribution of actin microfilaments in various cell types and to determine the effects of microfilament disrupters. Fluorescence microscopy on fixed, stabilized, squashed cells using the F-actin specific probe, rhodamine-labelled phalloidin, allowed for a three-dimensional visualization of actin microfilaments. Microfilaments were observed as long, meandering structures in root cap cells and meristematic cells, while those in immature vascular parenchyma were abundant in the thin band of cytoplasm and were long and less curved. By modifying standard electron microscopic fixation procedures, microfilaments in plant cells could be easily detected in all cell types. Treatment with cytochalasin B, cytochalasin D and lead acetate, compounds that interfere with microfilament related processes, re-organized the microfilaments into abnormal crossed and highly condensed masses. All the treatments affected not only the microfilaments but also the accumulation of secretory vesicles. The vivid demonstration of the effects of all of these microfilament disrupters on the number and size of Golgi vesicles indicates that these vesicles may depend on microfilaments for intracellular movement.

Cytochalasin B affects the structural polarity of statocytes from cress roots (Lepidium sativum L.)

The effect of cytochalasin B (CB; 25 micrograms ml-1 in 1% dimethylsulfoxide, DMSO) upon the structural polarity of statocytes in cress roots is demonstrated. If normal, vertically grown roots are incubated in CB, the structural polarity of the statocytes is altered according to the developmental stage of the root. Statocytes from young roots (13 or 17 hours, additionally 7 hours CB) are characterized by proximal ER cisternae and a sparsely developed distal ER-complex. Statocytes from older roots (24 hours, additionally 7 hours CB) still accumulate distal ER, as in control roots, but at the proximal cell pole in the vicinity of the nucleus additional ER is found. These effects are reversed by washing out the drug in DMSO. Growth of the roots under a continuous supply of CB yields statocytes with sedimented nuclei, proximal ER and almost no distal ER. Together with quantitative data from morphometric studies, a dynamic model of the expression of inherent cell polarity in structural polarity is proposed.