title: A SNARE complex containing SGR3/AtVAM3 and ZIG/VTI11 in gravity-sensing cells is important for Arabidopsis shoot gravitropism.
abstract: Plants can sense the direction of gravity and change the growth orientation of their organs. The molecular mechanisms of gravity sensing and signal transduction during gravitropism are not well known. We have isolated several shoot gravitropism (sgr) mutants of Arabidopsis. The sgr3-1 mutant exhibits a reduced gravitropic response in the inflorescence stems. In the inflorescence stems of Arabidopsis, gravity is sensed in endodermal cells that contain sedimentable amyloplasts. In sgr3-1, some amyloplasts in the endodermis failed to sediment in the direction of gravity. SGR3 encodes a syntaxin, AtVAM3, which had previously been cloned as a homologue of yeast Vam3p. AtVAM3 is localized to the prevacuolar compartment and vacuole and is suggested to function in vesicle transport to the vacuole. We have also cloned another soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE), ZIG/AtVTI11, a mutation that causes abnormal gravitropism. This mutant displayed an abnormal distribution of amyloplasts in the endodermal cells similar to that in sgr3-1. Endodermis-specific expression of SGR3 and ZIG by using the SCR promoter could complement the abnormal shoot gravitropism of each mutant. Protein-protein interaction between AtVAM3 and AtVTI11 in the endodermal cells was detected immunologically. The sgr3-1 mutation appeared to reduce the affinity of AtVAM3 for AtVTI11 or SYP5. These results suggest that vesicle transport to the prevacuolar compartment/vacuole in the endodermal cells, mediated by a specific SNARE complex containing AtVAM3 and AtVTI11, plays an important role in shoot gravitropism.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5 Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0101, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Chieko
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Masa H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Miyo Terao
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tasaka
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D001692:Biological Transport; D005033:Ethylmaleimide / Q000494:pharmacology; D018522:Gravitropism / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D018466:Gravity Sensing / Q000502:physiology*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000502:physiology; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D050766:Qb-SNARE Proteins; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D050600:SNARE Proteins; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D050765:Qa-SNARE Proteins; D050766:Qb-SNARE Proteins; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D050600:SNARE Proteins; C108430:Vam3 protein, Arabidopsis; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; C120751:vesicle transport v-SNARE 11 protein, Arabidopsis; D005033:Ethylmaleimide