Endoplasmic reticulum bodies: solving the insoluble.
Plant cells produce and accumulate insoluble triglycerides, proteins, and rubber that are assembled into inert, ER-derived organelles broadly termed as ER bodies. ER bodies appear to originate from tubular ER domains that are maintained by cytoskeletal interactions and integral ER proteins. ER bodies sequestering insoluble substances usually are transferred to the vacuole but sometimes remain as cytoplasmic organelles. Some otherwise soluble ER-synthesized proteins are converted to insoluble aggregates to produce ER bodies for transfer to the vacuole. This process constitutes an alternate secretory system to assemble and traffic transport-incompetent insoluble materials.
Herman
Eliot M
EM
Plant Genetics Research Unit, USDA/ARS, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 N. Warson Road, St. Louis, MO 63132, United States. eherman@danforthcenter.org
D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism*; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012995:Solubility
D010938:Plant Oils; D010940:Plant Proteins