title: AtVPS41-mediated endocytic pathway is essential for pollen tube-stigma interaction in Arabidopsis.
abstract: In flowering plants, extensive male-female interactions are required for successful fertilization in which various signaling cascades are involved. Prevacuolar compartments (PVC) and vacuoles are two types of subcellular compartments that terminate signal transduction by sequestrating signaling molecules in yeast and mammalian cells; however, the manner in which they might be involved in male-female interactions in plants is unknown. In this study, we identified Arabidopsis thaliana vacuolar protein sorting 41 (AtVPS41), encoded by a single-copy gene with sequence similarity to yeast Vps41p, as a new factor controlling pollen tube-stigma interaction. Loss of AtVPS41 function disrupted penetration of pollen tubes into the transmitting tissue and thus led to failed male transmission. In the pollen tubes, AtVPS41 protein is associated with PVCs and the tonoplast. We demonstrate that AtVPS41 is required for the late stage of the endocytic pathway (i.e., endomembrane trafficking from PVCs to vacuoles) because internalization of cell-surface molecules was normal in the vps41-deficient pollen tubes, whereas PVC-to-vacuole trafficking was impaired. We further show that the CHCR domain is required for subcellular localization and biological functioning of AtVPS41. These results indicate that the AtVPS41-mediated late stage of the endocytic pathway is essential for pollen tube-stigma interaction in Arabidopsis.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China;
authors.forename: Lihong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China;
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China;
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China; National Plant Gene Research Center, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hongya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China; National Plant Gene Research Center, Beijing 100101, People's Republic of China qulj@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Li-Jia
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Qu
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000502:physiology*; D011992:Endosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D053205:Pollen Tube / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D021381:Protein Transport; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins
keywords: Arabidopsis; PVC-to-vacuole trafficking; VPS41; endocytic pathway; pollen tube–stigma interaction