Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026
09:23
Lateral Root Inducible System in Arabidopsis and Maize
Published on: January 15, 2016
Maize calreticulin localizes preferentially to plasmodesmata in root apex
1Institute of Botany, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn, Department of Plant Cell Biology, Bonn, Germany. baluska@uni-bonn.de
The Plant Journal : for Cell and Molecular Biology
|October 3, 1999
Summary
Maize root cells show endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident calreticulin concentrated at plasmodesmata and pit fields, especially under osmotic stress. This ER protein distribution differs from other ER proteins, highlighting specialized ER domains.
Area of Science:
- Plant Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins play crucial roles in cellular functions.
- Calreticulin is an ER-resident protein with diverse functions.
- Understanding the specific localization of ER proteins is key to elucidating their roles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the subcellular distribution of ER-resident calreticulin in maize root meristematic cells.
- To determine if calreticulin exhibits domain-specific localization within the ER.
- To analyze the dynamic changes in calreticulin distribution under osmotic stress.
Main Methods:
- Immunocytological studies using polyclonal antibodies against maize calreticulin.
- Light microscopy and immunogold electron microscopy.
- Induction of osmotic stress using mannitol to induce plasmolysis.
Main Results:
- Calreticulin localized to cellular peripheries, nuclear envelopes, and cytoplasmic structures.
- Plasmodesmata were prominently labelled, indicating enrichment at the cell periphery.
- Osmotic stress caused calreticulin accumulation at plasmodesmata and pit fields, with depletion from contracting protoplasts.
- Other ER-resident proteins (HDEL, BiP) showed exclusive localization within contracted protoplasts.
Conclusions:
- Maize calreticulin exhibits a domain-specific distribution within the endoplasmic reticulum, with preferential enrichment at plasmodesmata and pit fields.
- Osmotic stress induces significant redistribution of calreticulin to these peripheral ER domains.
- These calreticulin-enriched domains at plasmodesmata and pit fields are distinct from ER domains containing other resident proteins like HDEL and BiP.
More Related Videos
06:11Improved Methods for Preparing Transverse Sections and Unrolled Whole Mounts of Maize Leaf Primordia for Fluorescence and Confocal Imaging
Published on: September 22, 2023
06:12Detached Maize Sheaths for Live-Cell Imaging of Infection by Fungal Foliar Maize Pathogens
Published on: September 15, 2023
Related Concept Videos
01:19Contact-dependent Signaling
Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
01:27C4 Pathway and CAM
Most plants use the C3 pathway for carbon fixation. However, some plants, such as sugar cane, corn, and cacti that grow in hot conditions, use alternative pathways to fix carbon and conserve energy loss due to photorespiration. Photorespiration is the process that occurs when the oxygen concentration is high. Under such conditions, the rubisco enzyme in the Calvin cycle binds O2 instead of CO2, which halts photosynthesis and consumes energy.
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
02:34Water and Mineral Acquisition
Specialized tissues in plant roots have evolved to capture water, minerals, and some ions from the soil. Roots exhibit a variety of branching patterns that facilitate this process. The outermost root cells have specialized structures called root hairs that increase the root surface, thus increasing soil contact. Water can passively cross into roots, as the concentration of water in the soil is higher than that of the root tissue. Minerals, in contrast, are actively transported into root cells.
01:46The Apoplast and Symplast
Plant growth depends on its ability to take up water and dissolved minerals from the soil. The root system of every plant is equipped with the necessary tissues to facilitate the entry of water and solutes. The plant tissues involved in the transport of water and minerals have two major compartments - the apoplast and the symplast. The apoplast includes everything outside the plasma membrane of living cells and consists of cell walls, extracellular spaces, xylem, phloem, and tracheids. The...
01:18Protein Transport to the Inner Chloroplast Membrane
Proteins targeted to the inner chloroplast membrane, or plastid proteins, are transported by two general pathways: the stop-transfer and the re-insertion or post-import pathways. Most plastid proteins carry N-terminal transit sequences and internal import sequences targeting it to the specific chloroplast subcompartment. Proteins targeted by the stop-transfer pathway have internal hydrophobic sequences that inhibit their translocation into the stroma. As a result, these precursors are arrested...
01:02Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition
Microtubules are small hollow tubes in eukaryotic cells. The cell wall microtubules are polymerized dimers of two globular proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression and provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell or pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Microtubules go through quick cycles of disassembly and...