Glutathione synthesis is essential for pollen germination in vitro

BMC Plant Biology

Research Article

Barbara E Koffler¹  Bernd Zechmann²  Scott D Russell³ 

[1] University of Graz, Institute of Plant Sciences, Schubertstrasse 51, 8010, Graz, Austria;University of Graz, Institute of Plant Sciences, Schubertstrasse 51, 8010, Graz, Austria;Graz University of Technology, Institute for Electron Microscopy and Fine Structure Research, Steyrergasse 17, 8010, Graz, Austria;University of Oklahoma, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Samuel Roberts Noble Electron Microscopy Laboratory, 770 Van Vleet Oval, 73019, Norman, Oklahoma, USA;

关键词: Arabidopsis;    auxin;    gametophyte;    glutathione;    indole-3-acetic acid;    pollen;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2229-11-54

 received in 2010-12-18, accepted in 2011-03-26,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe antioxidant glutathione fulfills many important roles during plant development, growth and defense in the sporophyte, however the role of this important molecule in the gametophyte generation is largely unclear. Bioinformatic data indicate that critical control enzymes are negligibly transcribed in pollen and sperm cells. Therefore, we decided to investigate the role of glutathione synthesis for pollen germination in vitro in Arabidopsis thaliana accession Col-0 and in the glutathione deficient mutant pad2-1 and link it with glutathione status on the subcellular level.ResultsThe depletion of glutathione by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis, reduced pollen germination rates to 2-5% compared to 71% germination in wildtype controls. The application of reduced glutathione (GSH), together with BSO, restored pollen germination and glutathione contents to control values, demonstrating that inhibition of glutathione synthesis is responsible for the decrease of pollen germination in vitro. The addition of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) to media containing BSO restored pollen germination to control values, which demonstrated that glutathione depletion in pollen grains triggered disturbances in auxin metabolism which led to inhibition of pollen germination.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that glutathione synthesis is essential for pollen germination in vitro and that glutathione depletion and auxin metabolism are linked in pollen germination and early elongation of the pollen tube, as IAA addition rescues glutathione deficient pollen.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Zechmann et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011