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Vacuolar Processing Enzymes in Plant Programmed Cell Death and Autophagy
Karolina Wleklik1, Sławomir Borek1
1Department of Plant Physiology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|January 21, 2023
Summary
Vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) are key plant proteases. This review explores their role in programmed cell death (PCD) and potential involvement in autophagy, suggesting VPEs may link these processes.
Area of Science:
- Plant molecular biology
- Cellular processes in plants
Background:
- Vacuolar processing enzymes (VPEs) are plant cysteine proteases activated at acidic pH.
- VPEs are hypothesized to control tonoplast rupture during programmed cell death (PCD) by activating other vacuolar hydrolases.
- VPEs have been implicated in various plant PCD events, including development, senescence, and stress responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review new insights into the role of VPEs in plant PCD.
- To emphasize evidence and hypotheses regarding the interconnections between autophagy and PCD.
- To identify new research opportunities in plant cell death and autophagy.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing research on VPEs, PCD, and autophagy in plants.
Main Results:
- VPEs are involved in multiple plant PCD pathways.
- Autophagy, a cellular degradation process, also occurs under conditions similar to PCD.
- VPEs are hypothesized to play a role in the degradation of autophagic bodies during plant autophagy.
Conclusions:
- VPEs are crucial vacuolar proteases in plants.
- VPEs may represent a critical point of crosstalk between autophagy and PCD in plant cells.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between VPEs, autophagy, and PCD.
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