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Calcium dynamics in tomato pollen tubes using the Yellow Cameleon 3.6 sensor
María Laura Barberini1, Lorena Sigaut2, Weijie Huang3,4
1Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, "Dr. Héctor Torres" (INGEBI-CONICET), Vuelta de Obligado 2490, C1428ADN, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Plant Reproduction
|December 14, 2017
Summary
Tomato pollen tubes exhibit a dynamic cytoplasmic calcium gradient crucial for growth. Inhibiting calcium pumps or release disrupts this gradient, halting pollen tube elongation, highlighting calcium
Area of Science:
- Plant reproductive biology
- Cellular signaling
- Molecular physiology
Background:
- Pollen tube growth is essential for plant fertilization.
- Cytoplasmic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) gradients are vital for pollen tube elongation.
- The precise mechanisms generating and maintaining these calcium gradients remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of calcium dynamics in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) pollen tube growth.
- To elucidate the mechanisms responsible for generating and maintaining the tip-focused [Ca2+]cyt gradient.
- To assess the impact of pharmacological agents on calcium homeostasis and pollen tube development.
Main Methods:
- Utilized transgenic tomato plants expressing the Yellow Cameleon 3.6 calcium sensor.
- Employed a pharmacological approach using cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) and 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB).
- Investigated the effects of GsMTx-4, a blocker of stretch-activated calcium channels.
Main Results:
- Observed an oscillating, tip-focused [Ca2+]cyt gradient in tomato pollen tubes synchronized with growth.
- CPA treatment disrupted subapical [Ca2+]cyt, abolished oscillations, and inhibited pollen tube growth.
- 2-APB treatment eliminated tip [Ca2+]cyt, abolished the gradient, and arrested growth; GsMTx-4 inhibited germination and affected growth, suggesting calcium channel involvement.
Conclusions:
- The tip-focused [Ca2+]cyt gradient is essential for sustained tomato pollen tube growth.
- Plant Ca2+-ATPases and endoplasmic reticulum calcium stores play critical roles in maintaining this gradient.
- Stretch-activated calcium channels are implicated in regulating tomato pollen tube development and calcium dynamics.
