Plasmodesmata and Intercellular Movement

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 October 2017) | Viewed by 41437

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Division of Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, 27-306, 501 Jinju-Daero, Jinju, Gyeongnam 660-701, Republic of Korea
Interests: plasmodesmata; phloem; cell-to-cell communication; intercellular protein and RNA trafficking; genome editing
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cell-to-cell signaling and intercellular movement of a diverse array of molecules is a pivotal process in the determination of cell fate during plant development and physiological adaptation in response to environmental stimuli. The intercellular movement of proteins and RNAs, in addition to the movement of small signaling molecules, such as phytohormones, have emerged as a novel mechanism of cell-to-cell signaling in plants. As a strategy for efficient intercellular communication and molecule movement, plants have evolved plant-specific symplasmic communication networks via plasmodesmata (PD) and phloem. PD connect neighboring cells and allow movement or trafficking of cellular components. Phloem provides long-distance movement through specialized sieve tube elements that are connected by enlarged or modified PD, called sieve pores. Recent approaches using genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, and omics biology greatly enhanced understanding of PD structure, their structural and regulatory components, non-cell-autonomous mobile protein and RNAs, and the biological significance of intercellular movement of mobile signals. This Special Issue, on the “Plasmodesmata and Intercellular Movement”, offers an open access forum for bringing together investigators with different approaches in studying, not only their biogenesis, composition, structure, and regulation, but also non-cell autonomous function of singaling micromolecules and macromolecules, such as transcription factors and RNAs. We encourage scientists to contribute original research papers and reviews dedicated to the plasmodesmata and intercellular movement of cellular components.

Prof. Dr. Jae-Yean Kim
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plasmodesmata
  • phloem
  • non-cell-autonomous protein
  • mobile transcription factor
  • cell-to-cell trafficking
  • intercellular movement
  • symplasmic signaling
  • supracellular biology
  • mobile RNA

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 203 KiB  
Editorial
Symplasmic Intercellular Communication through Plasmodesmata
by Jae-Yean Kim
Plants 2018, 7(1), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants7010023 - 20 Mar 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4590
Abstract
Communication between cells is an essential process for developing and maintaining multicellular collaboration during plant development and physiological adaptation in response to environmental stimuli. The intercellular movement of proteins and RNAs in addition to the movement of small nutrients or signaling molecules such [...] Read more.
Communication between cells is an essential process for developing and maintaining multicellular collaboration during plant development and physiological adaptation in response to environmental stimuli. The intercellular movement of proteins and RNAs in addition to the movement of small nutrients or signaling molecules such as sugars and phytohormones has emerged as a novel mechanism of cell-to-cell signaling in plants. As a strategy for efficient intercellular communication and long-distance molecule movement, plants have evolved plant-specific symplasmic communication networks via plasmodesmata (PDs) and the phloem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmodesmata and Intercellular Movement)

Research

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7598 KiB  
Article
Phloem-Conducting Cells in Haustoria of the Root-Parasitic Plant Phelipanche aegyptiaca Retain Nuclei and Are Not Mature Sieve Elements
by Minako Ekawa and Koh Aoki
Plants 2017, 6(4), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants6040060 - 05 Dec 2017
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6171
Abstract
Phelipanche aegyptiaca parasitizes a wide range of plants, including important crops, and causes serious damage to their production. P. aegyptiaca develops a specialized intrusive organ called a haustorium that establishes connections to the host’s xylem and phloem. In parallel with the development of [...] Read more.
Phelipanche aegyptiaca parasitizes a wide range of plants, including important crops, and causes serious damage to their production. P. aegyptiaca develops a specialized intrusive organ called a haustorium that establishes connections to the host’s xylem and phloem. In parallel with the development of xylem vessels, the differentiation of phloem-conducting cells has been demonstrated by the translocation of symplasmic tracers from the host to the parasite. However, it is unclear yet whether haustorial phloem-conducting cells are sieve elements. In this study, we identified phloem-conducting cells in haustoria by the host-to-parasite translocation of green fluorescent protein (GFP) from AtSUC2pro::GFP tomato sieve tubes. Haustorial GFP-conducting cells contained nuclei but not callose-rich sieve plates, indicating that phloem-conducting cells in haustoria differ from conventional sieve elements. To ascertain why the nuclei were not degenerated, expression of the P. aegyptiaca homologs NAC-domain containing transcription factor (NAC45), NAC45/86-dependent exonuclease-domain protein 1 (NEN1), and NEN4 was examined. However, these genes were more highly expressed in the haustorium than in tubercle protrusion, implying that nuclear degradation in haustoria may not be exclusively controlled by the NAC45/86-NEN regulatory pathway. Our results also suggest that the formation of plasmodesmata with large size exclusion limits is independent of nuclear degradation and callose deposition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmodesmata and Intercellular Movement)
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Review

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1150 KiB  
Review
Lipid Raft, Regulator of Plasmodesmal Callose Homeostasis
by Arya Bagus Boedi Iswanto and Jae-Yean Kim
Plants 2017, 6(2), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants6020015 - 03 Apr 2017
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 8382
Abstract
Abstract: The specialized plasma membrane microdomains known as lipid rafts are enriched by sterols and sphingolipids. Lipid rafts facilitate cellular signal transduction by controlling the assembly of signaling molecules and membrane protein trafficking. Another specialized compartment of plant cells, the plasmodesmata (PD), [...] Read more.
Abstract: The specialized plasma membrane microdomains known as lipid rafts are enriched by sterols and sphingolipids. Lipid rafts facilitate cellular signal transduction by controlling the assembly of signaling molecules and membrane protein trafficking. Another specialized compartment of plant cells, the plasmodesmata (PD), which regulates the symplasmic intercellular movement of certain molecules between adjacent cells, also contains a phospholipid bilayer membrane. The dynamic permeability of plasmodesmata (PDs) is highly controlled by plasmodesmata callose (PDC), which is synthesized by callose synthases (CalS) and degraded by β-1,3-glucanases (BGs). In recent studies, remarkable observations regarding the correlation between lipid raft formation and symplasmic intracellular trafficking have been reported, and the PDC has been suggested to be the regulator of the size exclusion limit of PDs. It has been suggested that the alteration of lipid raft substances impairs PDC homeostasis, subsequently affecting PD functions. In this review, we discuss the substantial role of membrane lipid rafts in PDC homeostasis and provide avenues for understanding the fundamental behavior of the lipid raft–processed PDC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmodesmata and Intercellular Movement)
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1819 KiB  
Review
Plasmodesmata-Mediated Cell-to-Cell Communication in the Shoot Apical Meristem: How Stem Cells Talk
by Munenori Kitagawa and David Jackson
Plants 2017, 6(1), 12; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants6010012 - 01 Mar 2017
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 13363
Abstract
Positional information is crucial for the determination of plant cell fates, and it is established based on coordinated cell-to-cell communication, which in turn is essential for plant growth and development. Plants have evolved a unique communication pathway, with tiny channels called plasmodesmata (PD) [...] Read more.
Positional information is crucial for the determination of plant cell fates, and it is established based on coordinated cell-to-cell communication, which in turn is essential for plant growth and development. Plants have evolved a unique communication pathway, with tiny channels called plasmodesmata (PD) spanning the cell wall. PD interconnect most cells in the plant and generate a cytoplasmic continuum, to mediate short- and long-distance trafficking of various molecules. Cell-to-cell communication through PD plays a role in transmitting positional signals, however, the regulatory mechanisms of PD-mediated trafficking are still largely unknown. The induction and maintenance of stem cells in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) depends on PDmediated cell-to-cell communication, hence, it is an optimal model for dissecting the regulatory mechanisms of PD-mediated cell-to-cell communication and its function in specifying cell fates. In this review, we summarize recent knowledge of PD-mediated cell-to-cell communication in the SAM, and discuss mechanisms underlying molecular trafficking through PD and its role in plant development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmodesmata and Intercellular Movement)
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9106 KiB  
Review
Multiple Mobile mRNA Signals Regulate Tuber Development in Potato
by David J. Hannapel and Anjan K. Banerjee
Plants 2017, 6(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants6010008 - 10 Feb 2017
Cited by 31 | Viewed by 8083
Abstract
Included among the many signals that traffic through the sieve element system are full-length mRNAs that function to respond to the environment and to regulate development. In potato, several mRNAs that encode transcription factors from the three-amino-loop-extension (TALE) superfamily move from leaves to [...] Read more.
Included among the many signals that traffic through the sieve element system are full-length mRNAs that function to respond to the environment and to regulate development. In potato, several mRNAs that encode transcription factors from the three-amino-loop-extension (TALE) superfamily move from leaves to roots and stolons via the phloem to control growth and signal the onset of tuber formation. This RNA transport is enhanced by short-day conditions and is facilitated by RNA-binding proteins from the polypyrimidine tract-binding family of proteins. Regulation of growth is mediated by three mobile mRNAs that arise from vasculature in the leaf. One mRNA, StBEL5, functions to activate growth, whereas two other, sequence-related StBEL’s, StBEL11 and StBEL29, function antagonistically to repress StBEL5 target genes involved in promoting tuber development. This dynamic system utilizes closely-linked phloem-mobile mRNAs to control growth in developing potato tubers. In creating a complex signaling pathway, potato has evolved a long-distance transport system that regulates underground organ development through closely-associated, full-length mRNAs that function as either activators or repressors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasmodesmata and Intercellular Movement)
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