Loss of INCREASED SIZE EXCLUSION LIMIT (ISE)1 or ISE2 increases the formation of secondary plasmodesmata

Plasmodesmata (PD) transport developmentally important nucleic acids and proteins between plant cells. Primary PD form during cell division and are simple, linear channels. Secondary PD form in existing cell walls after cell division and are simple, twinned, or branched. PD function undergoes a marked reduction at the mid-torpedo stage of Arabidopsis embryogenesis. Two mutants, increased size exclusion limit (ise)1 and ise2, fail to undergo this transition, and their null mutations are embryonically lethal. We investigated the ultrastructure of PD in early-, mid-, and late-torpedo-stage embryos and in young leaves. Wild-type (WT) embryos contain twinned and branched (T/B) PD at all stages, but ise1 and ise2 embryos contain significantly higher proportions of T/B PD than WT embryos. WT T/B PD formation occurs in a stage- and tissue-specific pattern that is reversed in ise1 embryos. Silencing ISE1 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves increases the frequency of secondary PD in existing cell walls. Silencing ISE2 increases the proportion of T/B secondary PD formed. Silenced tissues exhibit increased PD-mediated movement of green fluorescent protein tracers. Thus, silencing of ISE1 and ISE2 phenocopies ise1 and ise2 mutant embryos: when wild-type ISE1 and ISE2 functions are lost, de novo production of PD occurs, leading to increased intercellular transport.