Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026
10:30
Analysis of Tubular Membrane Networks in Cardiac Myocytes from Atria and Ventricles
Published on: October 15, 2014
Dissecting cardosin B trafficking pathways in heterologous systems
Diana Soares da Costa1, Susana Pereira, Ian Moore
1Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, s/nº, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal. diana.costa@fc.up.pt
Planta
|September 28, 2010
Summary
Cardosin B, unlike cardosin A, accumulates in plant vacuoles and cell walls. Its differential targeting in cardoon pistils is due to cell-specific expression, not pathway differences.
Area of Science:
- Plant molecular biology
- Cellular and developmental biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Cardosins A and B exhibit distinct cellular localizations within cardoon pistils.
- This difference suggests plasticity in plant secretory pathways, making cardosins a valuable model system.
- Understanding cardosin B's trafficking is key to elucidating differential protein targeting.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the intracellular trafficking and localization of cardosin B in heterologous systems.
- To compare cardosin B's targeting with cardosin A's known vacuolar localization.
- To determine the molecular mechanisms underlying cardosin B's differential cellular sorting.
Main Methods:
- Inducible expression in transgenic Arabidopsis.
- Transient expression in tobacco epidermal cells.
- Analysis of protein localization, glycosylation patterns, and trafficking pathways using RAB GTPases.
Main Results:
- Cardosin B was successfully expressed in both Arabidopsis and tobacco, accumulating mainly in vacuoles but also detected in the cell wall.
- Glycosylation patterns indicated high-mannose glycans, suggesting limited Golgi modification.
- Cardosin B trafficking to the vacuole involves RAB-D2a and RAB-F2b dependent pathways via the prevacuolar compartment.
Conclusions:
- Cardosin B's localization in vacuoles in heterologous systems and cardoon ovary contrasts with its extracellular accumulation in pistils.
- Differential targeting of cardosins A and B in cardoon pistils primarily results from cell-specific expression.
- Plant secretory pathway plasticity is influenced by cell type and protein expression context.
