Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
11:31
Author Spotlight: Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells
Published on: May 12, 2023
1.6K
Endomembrane and Golgi traffic in plant cells
Giovanni Stefano1, Anne Osterrieder, Chris Hawes
1Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Methods in Cell Biology
|December 4, 2013
Summary
Plant leaf cells offer a simple way to study the secretory pathway using fluorescent proteins. Researchers explore methods for protein expression, mutant screening, and in vivo techniques like FRAP and FRET to understand protein dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Plant cell biology
- Molecular plant science
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Leaf epidermal cells are excellent models for studying the plant secretory pathway.
- Fluorescent protein tagging allows for in vivo visualization of organelles.
- Endomembrane organelles are crucial for protein trafficking and function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review common methods for studying the plant secretory pathway in leaves.
- To highlight techniques for protein expression and identification in plant cells.
- To discuss in vivo methods for analyzing protein dynamics and interactions.
Main Methods:
- Protein expression in Arabidopsis and tobacco leaves.
- Mutant screens for identifying protein trafficking components.
- In vivo techniques: Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) and Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET).
Main Results:
- Established approaches allow for effective protein visualization and study in plant endomembranes.
- Mutant screens can successfully identify novel proteins involved in trafficking.
- FRAP and FRET provide dynamic insights into protein behavior within plant cells.
Conclusions:
- Leaf epidermal cells provide a powerful system for dissecting the plant secretory pathway.
- A combination of genetic and biophysical techniques is essential for comprehensive analysis.
- Understanding protein dynamics is key to elucidating secretory pathway function in plants.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Golgi Apparatus
16.1K
Properly folded and assembled proteins are selectively packaged into vesicles that exit the ER. Motor proteins transport these vesicles to the Golgi apparatus for adding modifications that make these proteins functional at their destination.
The Golgi apparatus is a eukaryotic organelle that has a distinctive ribbon-like appearance. It is a primary sorting and dispatch station for cargo arriving from the ER. Newly arriving vesicles enter the cis face of the Golgi, closest to the ER, and are...
The Golgi apparatus is a eukaryotic organelle that has a distinctive ribbon-like appearance. It is a primary sorting and dispatch station for cargo arriving from the ER. Newly arriving vesicles enter the cis face of the Golgi, closest to the ER, and are...
16.1K
01:49Golgi Apparatus
76.3K
As they leave the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER), properly folded and assembled proteins are selectively packaged into vesicles. These vesicles are transported by microtubule-based motor proteins and fuse together to form vesicular tubular clusters, subsequently arriving at the Golgi apparatus, a eukaryotic endomembrane organelle that often has a distinctive ribbon-like appearance.
76.3K
01:09Golgi Apparatus
4.7K
4.7K
01:26Transport Across the Golgi
5.2K
While it is unclear how molecules move between adjacent Golgi cisternae, it is apparent that the molecules move from cis- cisterna, the entry face, to the trans- cisterna, the exit face. Experiments initially suggested vesicles that bud from one cisterna and fuse with the next cisterna to transport proteins between the cisternae. This vesicular transport model describes the Golgi apparatus as a relatively static structure with a unique enzyme composition in each cisterna. Molecules are...
5.2K
02:12Short-distance Transport of Resources
14.9K
Short-distance transport refers to transport that occurs over a distance of just 2-3 cells, crossing the plasma membrane in the process. Small uncharged molecules, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water, can diffuse across the plasma membrane on their own. In contrast, ions and larger molecules require the assistance of transport proteins due to their charge or size. Transport across membranes also occurs within individual cells, playing a variety of essential roles for the plant as a whole.
14.9K
01:44Introduction to Membrane Traffic
7.9K
The ER, Golgi apparatus, endosomes, and lysosomes work in tandem to modify, sort, and package proteins and lipids. An integrated membrane trafficking network facilitates the back and forth shuttling of molecules within different organelles in the same cell or across the cell membrane.
The transport of soluble and membrane proteins is mediated by transport vesicles that collect cargo from one cellular compartment and deliver it to another by fusing with the target organelle membrane. The Rab...
The transport of soluble and membrane proteins is mediated by transport vesicles that collect cargo from one cellular compartment and deliver it to another by fusing with the target organelle membrane. The Rab...
7.9K