Caffeine inhibits callose deposition in the cell plate and the depolymerization of microtubules in the central region of the phragmoplast

Paclitaxel and Caffeine-Taurine, New Colchicine Alternatives for Chromosomes Doubling in Maize Haploid Breeding

The doubled haploid (DH) technology is employed worldwide in various crop-breeding programs, especially maize. Still, restoring tassel fertility is measured as one of the major restrictive factors in producing DH lines. Colchicine, nitrous oxide, oryzalin, and amiprophosmethyl are common chromosome-doubling agents that aid in developing viable diploids (2n) from sterile haploids (n). Although colchicine is the most widely used polyploidy-inducing agent, it is highly toxic to mammals and plants. Therefore, there is a dire need to explore natural, non-toxic, or low-toxic cheaper and accessible substitutes with a higher survival and fertility rate. To the best of our knowledge, the advanced usage of human anticancer drugs "Paclitaxel (PTX)" and "Caffeine-Taurine (CAF-T)" for in vivo maize haploids doubling is being disclosed for the first time. These two antimitotic and antimicrotubular agents (PTX and CAF-T) were assessed under various treatment conditions compared to colchicine. As a result, the maximum actual doubling rates (ADR) for PTX versus colchicine in maize haploid seedlings were 42.1% (400 M, 16 h treatment) versus 31.9% (0.5 mM, 24 h treatment), respectively. In addition, the ADR in maize haploid seeds were CAF-T 20.0% (caffeine 2 g/L + taurine 12 g/L, 16 h), PTX 19.9% (100 μM, 24 h treatment), and colchicine 26.0% (2.0 mM, 8 h treatment). Moreover, the morphological and physiological by-effects in haploid plants by PTX were significantly lower than colchicine. Hence, PTX and CAF-T are better alternatives than the widely used traditional colchicine to improve chromosome-doubling in maize crop.

ROS Signaling Mediates Directional Cell Elongation and Somatic Cell Fusion in the Red Alga Griffithsia monilis

In many filamentous red algae, cells that die from physical damage are replaced through somatic fusion of repair cells formed from adjacent cells. We visualized ROS generation in repair cells of Giriffthsia monilis using DCFH-DA staining and examined the expression of the genes involved in wound healing using quantitative PCR. Repair cells elongate along the H₂O₂ gradient, meet at each other’s tips where the H₂O₂ concentration is highest, and undergo somatic fusion. No wound response occurred with ascorbic acid treatment. Conversely, H₂O₂ treatment induced many repair cells, leading to multiple somatic cell fusions. Diphenylene iodonium (DPI) or caffeine treatment reversibly inhibited ROS production in repair cells and blocked the progression of the wound response suggesting that ROS and calcium signaling are involved in the process. Four G. monilis homologues of NADPH-oxidase (GmRBOHs) were identified. The expression of GmRBOHs was upregulated upon injury, peaking 1 h post injury, and decreasing to initial levels when repair cells began to elongate. Our results suggest that ROS generated upon cell injury activates Ca²⁺ channels and upregulates the expression of GmRBOHs, and that H₂O₂ generated from repair cells mediates induced repair cell elongation leading to somatic cell fusion and filament repair.

Biochemical and cytological interactions between callose synthase and microtubules in the tobacco pollen tube

KEY MESSAGE

The article concerns the association between callose synthase and cytoskeleton by biochemical and ultrastructural analyses in the pollen tube. Results confirmed this association and immunogold labeling showed a colocalization. Callose is a cell wall polysaccharide involved in fundamental biological processes, from plant development to the response to abiotic and biotic stress. To gain insight into the deposition pattern of callose, it is important to know how the enzyme callose synthase is regulated through the interaction with the vesicle-cytoskeletal system. Actin filaments likely determine the long-range distribution of callose synthase through transport vesicles but the spatial/biochemical relationships between callose synthase and microtubules are poorly understood, although experimental evidence supports the association between callose synthase and tubulin. In this manuscript, we further investigated the association between callose synthase and microtubules through biochemical and ultrastructural analyses in the pollen tube model system, where callose is an essential component of the cell wall. Results by native 2-D electrophoresis, isolation of callose synthase complex and far-western blot confirmed that callose synthase is associated with tubulin and can therefore interface with cortical microtubules. In contrast, actin and sucrose synthase were not permanently associated with callose synthase. Immunogold labeling showed colocalization between the enzyme and microtubules, occasionally mediated by vesicles. Overall, the data indicate that pollen tube callose synthase exerts its activity in cooperation with the microtubular cytoskeleton.

Analysis of formin functions during cytokinesis using specific inhibitor SMIFH2

The phragmoplast separates daughter cells during cytokinesis by constructing the cell plate, which depends on interaction between cytoskeleton and membrane compartments. Proteins responsible for these interactions remain unknown, but formins can link cytoskeleton with membranes and several members of formin protein family localize to the cell plate. Progress in functional characterization of formins in cytokinesis is hindered by functional redundancies within the large formin gene family. We addressed this limitation by employing Small Molecular Inhibitor of Formin Homology 2 (SMIFH2), a small-molecule inhibitor of formins. Treatment of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) tissue culture cells with SMIFH2 perturbed localization of actin at the cell plate; slowed down both microtubule polymerization and phragmoplast expansion; diminished association of dynamin-related proteins with the cell plate independently of actin and microtubules; and caused cell plate swelling. Another impact of SMIFH2 was shortening of the END BINDING1b (EB1b) and EB1c comets on the growing microtubule plus ends in N. tabacum tissue culture cells and Arabidopsis thaliana cotyledon epidermis cells. The shape of the EB1 comets in the SMIFH2-treated cells resembled that of the knockdown mutant of plant Xenopus Microtubule-Associated protein of 215 kDa (XMAP215) homolog MICROTUBULE ORGANIZATION 1/GEMINI 1 (MOR1/GEM1). This outcome suggests that formins promote elongation of tubulin flares on the growing plus ends. Formins AtFH1 (A. thaliana Formin Homology 1) and AtFH8 can also interact with EB1. Besides cytokinesis, formins function in the mitotic spindle assembly and metaphase to anaphase transition. Our data suggest that during cytokinesis formins function in: (1) promoting microtubule polymerization; (2) nucleating F-actin at the cell plate; (3) retaining dynamin-related proteins at the cell plate; and (4) remodeling of the cell plate membrane.

The Effect of Caffeine and Trifluralin on Chromosome Doubling in Wheat Anther Culture

Challenges for wheat doubled haploid (DH) production using anther culture include genotype variability in green plant regeneration and spontaneous chromosome doubling. The frequency of chromosome doubling in our program can vary from 14% to 80%. Caffeine or trifluralin was applied at the start of the induction phase to improve early genome doubling. Caffeine treatment at 0.5 mM for 24 h significantly improved green plant production in two of the six spring wheat crosses but had no effect on the other crosses. The improvements were observed in Trojan/Havoc and Lancer/LPB14-0392, where green plant numbers increased by 14% and 27% to 161 and 42 green plants per 30 anthers, respectively. Caffeine had no significant effect on chromosome doubling, despite a higher frequency of doubling in several caffeine treatments in the first experiment (67-68%) compared to the control (56%). In contrast, trifluralin significantly improved doubling following a 48 h treatment, from 38% in the control to 51% and 53% in the 1 µM and 3 µM trifluralin treatments, respectively. However, trifluralin had a significant negative effect on green plant regeneration, declining from 31.8 green plants per 20 anthers (control) to 9-25 green plants per 20 anthers in the trifluralin treatments. Further work is required to identify a treatment regime with caffeine and/or anti-mitotic herbicides that consistently increases chromosome doubling in wheat without reducing green plant regeneration.

Phragmoplast expansion: the four-stroke engine that powers plant cytokinesis

The phragmoplast is a plant-specific secretory module that partitions daughter cells during cytokinesis by constructing a cell plate from membranes and oligosaccharides. The cell plate is typically a long structure, which requires the phragmoplast to expand to complete cytokinesis. The phragmoplast expands by coordinating microtubule dynamics with membrane trafficking. Each step in phragmoplast expansion involves the establishment of anti-parallel microtubule overlaps that are enriched with the protein MAP65, which recruits cytokinetic vesicles through interaction with the tethering factor, TRAPPII. Cell plate assembly triggers dissolution of the anti-parallel overlaps and stabilization of microtubule plus ends through association with the cell plate assembly machinery. This opinion article discusses processes that drive phragmoplast expansion as well as highlights key questions that remain for better understanding its role in plant cell division.

Phragmoplast microtubule dynamics - a game of zones

Plant morphogenesis relies on the accurate positioning of the partition (cell plate) between dividing cells during cytokinesis. The cell plate is synthetized by a specialized structure called the phragmoplast, which consists of microtubules, actin filaments, membrane compartments and associated proteins. The phragmoplast forms between daughter nuclei during the transition from anaphase to telophase. As cells are commonly larger than the originally formed phragmoplast, the construction of the cell plate requires phragmoplast expansion. This expansion depends on microtubule polymerization at the phragmoplast forefront (leading zone) and loss at the back (lagging zone). Leading and lagging zones sandwich the 'transition' zone. A population of stable microtubules in the transition zone facilitates transport of building materials to the midzone where the cell plate assembly takes place. Whereas microtubules undergo dynamic instability in all zones, the overall balance appears to be shifted towards depolymerization in the lagging zone. Polymerization of microtubules behind the lagging zone has not been reported to date, suggesting that microtubule loss there is irreversible. In this Review, we discuss: (1) the regulation of microtubule dynamics in the phragmoplast zones during expansion; (2) mechanisms of the midzone establishment and initiation of cell plate biogenesis; and (3) signaling in the phragmoplast.

Endomembrane trafficking overarching cell plate formation

By contrast to other eukaryotic kingdoms, plant cytokinesis is an inside-out process. A coordinated action of cytoskeletal transitions and endomembrane trafficking events builds a novel membrane compartment, the cell plate. Deposition of cell wall polymers transforms the lumen of this membrane compartment into a new cross wall, physically separating the daughter cells. The characterization of tethering complexes acting at discrete phases during cell plate formation and upstream of vesicle fusion events, the presence of modulators directing secretion and recycling during cytokinesis, as well as the identification and temporal recruitment of the endocytic machinery, provides a starting point to dissect the transitions in endomembrane trafficking which shape this process. This review aims to integrate recent findings on endomembrane trafficking events which spatio-temporally act to construct the cell plate.

Physiological Functions of the COPI Complex in Higher Plants

COPI vesicles are essential to the retrograde transport of proteins in the early secretory pathway. The COPI coatomer complex consists of seven subunits, termed α-, β-, β'-, γ-, δ-, ε-, and ζ-COP, in yeast and mammals. Plant genomes have homologs of these subunits, but the essentiality of their cellular functions has hampered the functional characterization of the subunit genes in plants. Here we have employed virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and dexamethasone (DEX)-inducible RNAi of the COPI subunit genes to study the in vivo functions of the COPI coatomer complex in plants. The β'-, γ-, and δ-COP subunits localized to the Golgi as GFP-fusion proteins and interacted with each other in the Golgi. Silencing of β'-, γ-, and δ-COP by VIGS resulted in growth arrest and acute plant death in Nicotiana benthamiana, with the affected leaf cells exhibiting morphological markers of programmed cell death. Depletion of the COPI subunits resulted in disruption of the Golgi structure and accumulation of autolysosome-like structures in earlier stages of gene silencing. In tobacco BY-2 cells, DEX-inducible RNAi of β'-COP caused aberrant cell plate formation during cytokinesis. Collectively, these results suggest that COPI vesicles are essential to plant growth and survival by maintaining the Golgi apparatus and modulating cell plate formation.

Polysaccharide deposition during cytokinesis: Challenges and future perspectives

De novo formation of a new cell wall partitions the cytoplasm of the dividing cell during plant cytokinesis. The development of the cell plate, a transient sheet-like structure, requires the accumulation of vesicles directed by the phragmoplast to the cell plate assembly matrix. Fusion and fission of the accumulated vesicles are accompanied by the deposition of polysaccharides and cell wall structural proteins; together, they are leading to the stabilization of the formed structure which after insertion into the parental wall lead to the maturation of the nascent cross wall. Callose is the most abundant polysaccharide during cell plate formation and during maturation is gradually replaced by cellulose. Matrix polysaccharides such as hemicellulose, and pectins presumably are present throughout all developmental stages, being delivered to the cell plate by secretory vesicles. The availability of novel chemical probes such as endosidin 7, which inhibits callose formation at the cell plate, has proved useful for dissecting the temporal accumulation of vesicles at the cell plate and establishing the critical role of callose during cytokinesis. The use of emerging approaches such as chemical genomics combined with live cell imaging; novel techniques of polysaccharide detection including tagged polysaccharide substrates, newly characterized polysaccharide antibodies and vesicle proteomics can be used to develop a comprehensive model of cell plate development.

Aphidicolin-induced nuclear elongation in tobacco BY-2 cells

Plant nuclei are known to differentiate into various shapes within a single plant. However, little is known about the mechanisms of nuclear morphogenesis. We found that nuclei of tobacco BY-2 cells were highly elongated on long-term treatment with 5 mg l⁻¹ aphidicolin, an inhibitor of DNA polymerase α. In aphidicolin-treated cells, the nuclear length was correlated with the cell length. During culture in the presence of aphidicolin, the nuclei were elongated in parallel with cell elongation. Nuclear elongation was inhibited by the inhibition of cell elongation with 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile, a cellulose synthesis inhibitor. However, cell elongation induced in the auxin-depleted medium in the absence of aphidicolin did not cause nuclear elongation, indicating that cell elongation alone is not sufficient for nuclear elongation. Treatment with either latrunculin B or propyzamide inhibited the aphidicolin-induced nuclear elongation, indicating that both actin filaments and microtubules (MTs) are required for nuclear elongation. Observations using BY-YTHCLR2 cells, in which actin filaments, MTs and nuclei were simultaneously visualized, revealed that the longitudinally arranged MT bundles associated with the nucleus play an important role in nuclear elongation, and that actin filaments affect the formation of these MT bundles. In aphidicolin-treated cells, the nuclear DNA contents of the elongated nuclei exceeded 4C, and the nuclear length was highly correlated with the nuclear DNA content. In cells treated with 50 mg l⁻¹ aphidicolin, cells were elongated and nucleus-associated longitudinal MT bundles were formed, but the nuclear DNA contents did not exceed 4C and the nuclei did not elongate. These results indicate that an increase in the nuclear DNA content above 4C is also required for nuclear elongation.

Signaling Pathway that Controls Plant Cytokinesis

Cytokinesis is the final process of cell division cycle that properly separates cytoplasmic components and duplicated nuclei into two daughter cells. Plant cytokinesis occurs in phragmoplast, the cytokinetic machinery composed mainly of microtubule (MT) arrays. Recent studies have revealed that a plant-specific mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade is involved in cytokinesis. The activity of this cascade is controlled by cytokinesis-specific kinesin called NACK in tobacco and Arabidopsis, which is required for the cell plate formation in the phragmoplast. Functions of NACK are strictly controlled by cyclin-dependent kinase/cyclin B complexes so as to be activated at the correct timing for cytokinesis. Thus, this pathway constitutes a part of the regulatory system controlling the cell cycle progression. Here, we review recent advancements for understanding how the activation of this pathway can be specified in the late stage of the M phase and how this MAPK cascade can control cytokinesis through MT turnover.

The rise and fall of the phragmoplast microtubule array

The cytokinetic apparatus, the phragmoplast, contains a bipolar microtubule (MT) framework that has the MT plus ends concentrated at or near the division site. This anti-parallel MT array provides tracks for the transport of Golgi-derived vesicles toward the plus ends so that materials enclosed are subsequently deposited at the division site. Here we will discuss a proposed model of the centrifugal expansion of the phragmoplast that takes place concomitantly with the assembly of the cell plate, the ultimate product of vesicle fusion. The expansion is a result of continuous MT assembly at the phragmoplast periphery while the MTs toward the center of the phragmoplast are disassembled. These events are the result of MT-dependent MT polymerization, bundling of anti-parallel MTs coming from opposite sides of the division plane that occurs selectively at the phragmoplast periphery, positioning of the plus ends of cross-linked MTs at or near the division site by establishing a minimal MT-overlapping zone, and debundling of anti-parallel MTs that is triggered by phosphorylation of MT-associated proteins. The debundled MTs are disassembled at last by factors including the MT severing enzyme katanin.

Nematode-induced endoreduplication in plant host cells: why and how?

Plant-parasitic root-knot and cyst nematodes have acquired the ability to induce remarkable changes in host cells during the formation of feeding sites. Root-knot nematodes induce several multinucleate giant cells inside a gall whereas cyst nematodes provoke the formation of a multinucleate syncytium. Both strategies impinge on the deregulation of the cell cycle, involving a major role for endoreduplication. This review will first describe the current knowledge on the control of normal and aberrant cell cycles. Thereafter, we will focus on the role of both cell-cycle routes in the transformation process of root cells into large and highly differentiated feeding sites as induced by the phytoparasitic root-knot and cyst nematodes.

Microarray analysis of Etrog citron (Citrus medica L.) reveals changes in chloroplast, cell wall, peroxidase and symporter activities in response to viroid infection

Viroids are small (246-401 nucleotides), single-stranded, circular RNA molecules that infect several crop plants and can cause diseases of economic importance. Citrus are the hosts in which the largest number of viroids have been identified. Citrus exocortis viroid (CEVd), the causal agent of citrus exocortis disease, induces considerable losses in citrus crops. Changes in the gene expression profile during the early (pre-symptomatic) and late (post-symptomatic) stages of Etrog citron infected with CEVd were investigated using a citrus cDNA microarray. MaSigPro analysis was performed and, on the basis of gene expression profiles as a function of the time after infection, the differentially expressed genes were classified into five clusters. FatiScan analysis revealed significant enrichment of functional categories for each cluster, indicating that viroid infection triggers important changes in chloroplast, cell wall, peroxidase and symporter activities.

Non-apoptotic programmed cell death with paraptotic-like features in bleomycin-treated plant cells is suppressed by inhibition of ATM/ATR pathways or NtE2F overexpression

In plants, different forms of programmed cell death (PCD) have been identified, but they only partially correspond to those described for animals, which is most probably due to structural differences between animal and plant cells. Here, the results show that in tobacco BY-2 cells, bleomycin (BLM), an inducer of double-strand breaks (DSBs), triggers a novel type of non-apoptotic PCD with paraptotic-like features. Analysis of numerous PCD markers revealed an extensive vacuolization, vacuolar rupture, and chromatin condensation, but no apoptotic DNA fragmentation, fragmentation of the nuclei, or sensitivity to caspase inhibitors. BLM-induced PCD was cell cycle regulated, occurring predominantly upon G(2)/M cell cycle checkpoint activation. In addition, this paraptotic-like PCD was at least partially inhibited by caffeine, a known inhibitor of DNA damage sensor kinases ATM and ATR. Interestingly, overexpression of one NtE2F transcriptional factor, whose homologues play a dual role in animal apoptosis and DNA repair, reduced PCD induction and modulated G(2)/M checkpoint activation in BY-2 cells. These observations provide a solid ground for further investigations into the paraptotic-like PCD in plants, which might represent an ancestral non-apoptotic form of PCD conserved among animals, protists, and plants.

Mutations in MYB3R1 and MYB3R4 cause pleiotropic developmental defects and preferential down-regulation of multiple G2/M-specific genes in Arabidopsis

R1R2R3-Myb proteins represent an evolutionarily conserved class of Myb family proteins important for cell cycle regulation and differentiation in eukaryotic cells. In plants, this class of Myb proteins are believed to regulate the transcription of G2/M phase-specific genes by binding to common cis-elements, called mitosis-specific activator (MSA) elements. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), MYB3R1 and MYB3R4 act as transcriptional activators and positively regulate cytokinesis by activating the transcription of KNOLLE, which encodes a cytokinesis-specific syntaxin. Here, we show that the double mutation myb3r1 myb3r4 causes pleiotropic developmental defects, some of which are due to deficiency of KNOLLE whereas other are not, suggesting that multiple target genes are involved. Consistently, microarray analysis of the double mutant revealed altered expression of many genes, among which G2/M-specific genes showed significant overrepresentation of the MSA motif and a strong tendency to be down-regulated by the double mutation. Our results demonstrate, on a genome-wide level, the importance of the MYB3R-MSA pathway for regulating G2/M-specific transcription. In addition, MYB3R1 and MYB3R4 may have diverse roles during plant development by regulating G2/M-specific genes with various functions as well as genes possibly unrelated to the cell cycle.

Distribution of callose synthase, cellulose synthase, and sucrose synthase in tobacco pollen tube is controlled in dissimilar ways by actin filaments and microtubules

Callose and cellulose are fundamental components of the cell wall of pollen tubes and are probably synthesized by distinct enzymes, callose synthase and cellulose synthase, respectively. We examined the distribution of callose synthase and cellulose synthase in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) pollen tubes in relation to the dynamics of actin filaments, microtubules, and the endomembrane system using specific antibodies to highly conserved peptide sequences. The role of the cytoskeleton and membrane flow was investigated using specific inhibitors (latrunculin B, 2,3-butanedione monoxime, taxol, oryzalin, and brefeldin A). Both enzymes are associated with the plasma membrane, but cellulose synthase is present along the entire length of pollen tubes (with a higher concentration at the apex) while callose synthase is located in the apex and in distal regions. In longer pollen tubes, callose synthase accumulates consistently around callose plugs, indicating its involvement in plug synthesis. Actin filaments and endomembrane dynamics are critical for the distribution of callose synthase and cellulose synthase, showing that enzymes are transported through Golgi bodies and/or vesicles moving along actin filaments. Conversely, microtubules appear to be critical in the positioning of callose synthase in distal regions and around callose plugs. In contrast, cellulose synthases are only partially coaligned with cortical microtubules and unrelated to callose plugs. Callose synthase also comigrates with tubulin by Blue Native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Membrane sucrose synthase, which expectedly provides UDP-glucose to callose synthase and cellulose synthase, binds to actin filaments depending on sucrose concentration; its distribution is dependent on the actin cytoskeleton and the endomembrane system but not on microtubules.

Adaptin-like protein TPLATE and clathrin recruitment during plant somatic cytokinesis occurs via two distinct pathways

Plant cytokinesis deploys a transport system that centers cell plate-forming vesicles and fuses them to form a cell plate. Here we show that the adaptin-like protein TPLATE and clathrin light chain 2 (CLC2) are targeted to the expanding cell plate and to the equatorial subregion of the plasma membrane referred to as the cortical division zone (CDZ). Bimolecular fluorescence complementation and immunodetection indicates that TPLATE interacts with clathrin. Pharmacological tools as well as analysis of protein targeting in a mutant background affecting cell plate formation allowed to discriminate two recruitment pathways for TPLATE and CLC2. The cell plate recruitment pathway is dependent on phragmoplast microtubule organization and the formation and transport of secretory vesicles. The CDZ recruitment pathway, on the other hand, is activated at the end of cytokinesis and independent of trans-Golgi-derived vesicle trafficking. TPLATE and CLC2 do not accumulate at a narrow zone central of the CDZ. We have dubbed this subdomain the cortical division site and show that it corresponds precisely with the position where the cell plate merges with the parental wall. These data provide evidence that the plasma membrane is subject to localized endocytosis or membrane remodeling processes that are required for the fusion of the cell plate with a predefined region of the plasma membrane.

Plant cell division is specifically affected by nitrotyrosine

Virtually all eukaryotic alpha-tubulins harbour a C-terminal tyrosine that can be reversibly removed and religated, catalysed by a specific tubulin-tyrosine carboxypeptidase (TTC) and a specific tubulin-tyrosine ligase (TTL), respectively. The biological function of this post-translational modification has remained enigmatic. 3-nitro-L-tyrosine (nitrotyrosine, NO(2)Tyr), can be incorporated into detyrosinated alpha-tubulin instead of tyrosine, producing irreversibly nitrotyrosinated alpha-tubulin. To gain insight into the possible function of detyrosination, the effect of NO(2)Tyr has been assessed in two plant model organisms (rice and tobacco). NO(2)Tyr causes a specific, sensitive, and dose-dependent inhibition of cell division that becomes detectable from 1 h after treatment and which is not observed with non-nitrosylated tyrosine. These effects are most pronounced in cycling tobacco BY-2 cells, where the inhibition of cell division is accompanied by a stimulation of cell length, and a misorientation of cross walls. NO(2)Tyr reduces the abundance of the detyrosinated form of alpha-tubulin whereas the tyrosinated alpha-tubulin is not affected. These findings are discussed with respect to a model where NO(2)Tyr is accepted as substrate by TTL and subsequently blocks TTC activity. The irreversibly tyrosinated alpha-tubulin impairs microtubular functions that are relevant to cell division in general, and cell wall deposition in particular.

The Arabidopsis callose synthase gene GSL8 is required for cytokinesis and cell patterning

Cytokinesis is the division of the cytoplasm and its separation into two daughter cells. Cell plate growth and cytokinesis appear to require callose, but direct functional evidence is still lacking. To determine the role of callose and its synthesis during cytokinesis, we identified and characterized mutants in many members of the GLUCAN SYNTHASE-LIKE (GSL; or CALLOSE SYNTHASE) gene family in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Most gsl mutants (gsl1-gsl7, gsl9, gsl11, and gsl12) exhibited roughly normal seedling growth and development. However, mutations in GSL8, which were previously reported to be gametophytic lethal, were found to produce seedlings with pleiotropic defects during embryogenesis and early vegetative growth. We found cell wall stubs, two nuclei in one cell, and other defects in cell division in homozygous gsl8 insertional alleles. In addition, gsl8 mutants and inducible RNA interference lines of GSL8 showed reduced callose deposition at cell plates and/or new cell walls. Together, these data show that the GSL8 gene encodes a putative callose synthase required for cytokinesis and seedling maturation. In addition, gsl8 mutants disrupt cellular and tissue-level patterning, as shown by the presence of clusters of stomata in direct contact and by islands of excessive cell proliferation in the developing epidermis. Thus, GSL8 is required for patterning as well as cytokinesis during Arabidopsis development.

The timely deposition of callose is essential for cytokinesis in Arabidopsis

The primary plant cell wall is laid down over a brief period of time during cytokinesis. Initially, a membrane network forms at the equator of a dividing cell. The cross-wall is then assembled and remodeled within this membrane compartment. Callose is the predominant luminal component of the nascent cross-wall or cell plate, but is not a component of intact mature cell walls, which are composed primarily of cellulose, pectins and xyloglucans. Widely accepted models postulate that callose comprises a transient, rapid spreading force for the expansion of membrane networks during cytokinesis. In this study, we clone and characterize an Arabidopsis gene, MASSUE/AtGSL8, which encodes a putative callose synthase. massue mutants are seedling-lethal and have a striking cytokinesis-defective phenotype. Callose deposition was delayed in the cell plates of massue mutants. Mutant cells were occasionally bi- or multi-nucleate, with cell-wall stubs, and we frequently observed gaps at the junction between cross-walls and parental cell walls. The results suggest that the timely deposition of callose is essential for the completion of plant cytokinesis. Surprisingly, confocal analysis revealed that the cell-plate membrane compartment forms and expands, seemingly as far as the parental wall, prior to the appearance of callose. We discuss the possibility that callose may be required to establish a lasting connection between the nascent cross-wall and the parental cell wall.

Regulation of callose synthase activity in situ in alamethicin-permeabilized Arabidopsis and tobacco suspension cells

BACKGROUND

The cell wall component callose is mainly synthesized at certain developmental stages and after wounding or pathogen attack. Callose synthases are membrane-bound enzymes that have been relatively well characterized in vitro using isolated membrane fractions or purified enzyme. However, little is known about their functional properties in situ, under conditions when the cell wall is intact. To allow in situ investigations of the regulation of callose synthesis, cell suspensions of Arabidopsis thaliana (Col-0), and tobacco (BY-2), were permeabilized with the channel-forming peptide alamethicin.

RESULTS

Nucleic acid-binding dyes and marker enzymes demonstrated alamethicin permeabilization of plasma membrane, mitochondria and plastids, also allowing callose synthase measurements. In the presence of alamethicin, Ca2+ addition was required for callose synthase activity, and the activity was further stimulated by Mg2+ Cells pretreated with oryzalin to destabilize the microtubules prior to alamethicin permeabilization showed significantly lower callose synthase activity as compared to non-treated cells. As judged by aniline blue staining, the callose formed was deposited both at the cell walls joining adjacent cells and at discrete punctate locations earlier described as half plasmodesmata on the outer walls. This pattern was unaffected by oryzalin pretreatment, showing a quantitative rather than a qualitative effect of polymerized tubulin on callose synthase activity. No callose was deposited unless alamethicin, Ca2+ and UDP-glucose were present. Tubulin and callose synthase were furthermore part of the same plasma membrane protein complex, as judged by two-dimensional blue native SDS-PAGE.

CONCLUSION

Alamethicin permeabilization allowed determination of callose synthase regulation and tubulin interaction in the natural crowded cellular environment and under conditions where contacts between the cell wall, the plasma membrane and cytoskeletal macromolecules remained. The results also suggest that alamethicin permeabilization induces a defense response mimicking the natural physical separation of cells (for example when intercellulars are formed), during which plasmodesmata are transiently left open.

Quantitative analysis of changes in actin microfilament contribution to cell plate development in plant cytokinesis

BACKGROUND

Plant cells divide by the formation of new cross walls, known as cell plates, from the center to periphery of each dividing cell. Formation of the cell plate occurs in the phragmoplast, a complex structure composed of membranes, microtubules (MTs) and actin microfilaments (MFs). Disruption of phragmoplast MTs was previously found to completely inhibit cell plate formation and expansion, indicative of their crucial role in the transport of cell plate membranes and materials. In contrast, disruption of MFs only delays cell plate expansion but does not completely inhibit cell plate formation. Despite such findings, the significance and molecular mechanisms of MTs and MFs remain largely unknown.

RESULTS

Time-sequential changes in MF-distribution were monitored by live imaging of tobacco BY-2 cells stably expressing the GFP-actin binding domain 2 (GFP-ABD2) fusion protein, which vitally co-stained with the endocytic tracer, FM4-64, that labels the cell plate. During cytokinesis, MFs accumulated near the newly-separated daughter nuclei towards the emerging cell plate, and subsequently approached the expanding cell plate edges. Treatment with an actin polymerization inhibitor caused a decrease in the cell plate expansion rate, which was quantified using time-lapse imaging and regression analysis. Our results demonstrated time-sequential changes in the contribution of MFs to cell plate expansion; MF-disruption caused about a 10% decrease in the cell plate expansion rate at the early phase of cytokinesis, but about 25% at the late phase. MF-disruption also caused malformation of the emerging cell plate at the early phase, indicative of MF involvement in early cell plate formation and expansion. The dynamic movement of endosomes around the cell plate was also inhibited by treatment with an actin polymerization inhibitor and a myosin ATPase inhibitor, respectively. Furthermore, time-lapse imaging of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) revealed that MFs were involved in ER accumulation in the phragmoplast at the late phase.

CONCLUSION

By expression of GFP-ABD2 and vital staining with FM4-64, the dynamics of MFs and the cell plate could be followed throughout plant cytokinesis in living cells. Pharmacological treatment and live imaging analysis also allowed us to quantify MF contribution to cell plate expansion during cytokinesis. Our results suggest that MFs play significant roles in cell plate formation and expansion via regulation of endomembrane dynamics.