title: Crystalloids in apparent autophagic plastids: remnants of plastids or peroxisomes?
abstract: Plant macroautophagy is carried out by autophagosome-type organelles. Recent evidence suggests that plastids also can carry out macroautophagy. The double membrane at the surface of plastids apparently invaginates, forming an intraplastidial space. This space contains a portion of cytoplasm that apparently becomes degraded. Here we report, in Tillandsia sp. and Aechmaea sp., the presence of almost square or diamond-shaped crystalloids inside what seems the intraplastidial space of autophagous plastids. The same type of crystalloids were observed in chloroplasts and other plastids, but were not found in the cytoplasm or the vacuole. Peroxisomes contained smaller and more irregularly shaped crystalloids compared to the ones observed in 'autophagous' plastids. It is hypothesized that plastids are able to sequester chloroplasts and other plastids.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università di Firenze, Via La Pira 4, 50132 Florence, Italy. Electronic address: alessio.papini@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papini
authors.affiliation: Mann Laboratory, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: wgvandoorn@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Wouter G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: van Doorn
mesh_terms: D001343:Autophagy; D000077324:Crystalloid Solutions; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007552:Isotonic Solutions / Q000378:metabolism*; D020675:Peroxisomes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018087:Plastids / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D000077324:Crystalloid Solutions; D007552:Isotonic Solutions
keywords: Apparent autophagous plastid; Crystalloids; Ovary; Peroxisomes; Plastids