title: Remodelling of lace plant leaves: antioxidants and ROS are key regulators of programmed cell death.
abstract: Antioxidants and reactive oxygen species are integral for programmed cell death signaling during perforation formation in the lace plant ( Aponogeton madagascariensis ). The lace plant is an excellent model system for studying developmentally regulated programmed cell death (PCD). During early lace plant leaf development, PCD systematically deletes cells resulting in a perforated leaf morphology that is unique in planta. A distinct feature in young lace plant leaves is an abundance of anthocyanins, which have antioxidant properties. The first sign of PCD induction is the loss of anthocyanin pigmentation in cells that are targeted for destruction, which results in a visible gradient of cell death. The cellular dynamics and time course of lace plant PCD are well documented; however, the signals involved in the pathway remain elusive. This study investigates the roles of antioxidants and ROS in developmental PCD signaling during lace plant perforation formation. The involvement of antioxidants and ROS in the pathway was determined using a variety of techniques including pharmacological whole plant experimentation, long-term live cell imaging, the 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid anti-radical activity assay, and western blot analysis. Results indicate that antioxidants and ROS are key regulators of PCD during the remodelling of lace plant leaves.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Adrian N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Dauphinee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Jacob I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Georgia L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Denbigh
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P, Canada.
authors.forename: Christian R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Lacroix
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada. arunika.gunawardena@dal.ca.
authors.forename: Arunika H L A N
authors.initials: AHLAN
authors.lastname: Gunawardena
mesh_terms: D035961:Alismatales / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000378:metabolism; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D016923:Cell Death / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: Anthocyanins; Antioxidant enzymes; Live cell imaging; Perforation development; Reactive oxygen species; Spectrophotometry