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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Isolation and Respiratory Measurements of Mitochondria from Arabidopsis thaliana
Published on: January 5, 2018
A mitochondrial magnesium transporter functions in Arabidopsis pollen development
Le-Gong Li1, Lubomir N Sokolov, Yong-Hua Yang
1College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100037, China.
Abstract:
Magnesium is an abundant divalent cation in plant cells and plays a critical role in many physiological processes. We have previously described the identification of a 10-member Arabidopsis gene family encoding putative magnesium transport (MGT) proteins. Here, we report that a member of the MGT family, AtMGT5, functions as a dual-functional Mg-transporter that operates in a concentration-dependent manner, namely it serves as a Mg-importer at micromolar levels and facilitates the efflux in the millimolar range. The AtMGT5 protein is localized in the mitochondria, suggesting that AtMGT5 mediates Mg-trafficking between the cytosol and mitochondria. The AtMGT5 gene was exclusively expressed in anthers at early stages of flower development. Examination of two independent T-DNA insertional mutants of AtMGT5 gene demonstrated that AtMGT5 played an essential role for pollen development and male fertility. This study suggests a critical role for Mg(2+) transport between cytosol and mitochondria in male gametogenesis in plants.
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