Molecular Characterization of Plant Prevacuolar Compartments

Molecular Characterization of Plant Prevacuolar Compartments


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- Date/Time : Tue., 30 July 2002


              15:00-16:00 

- Speaker : Dr. Liwen Jiang


         - The Chinese University of Hong Kong

- Place : Life Science Bldg. #104

- For inquires : Professor Gynheung An Dept. of Life Science


                생명과학과 안진흥 교수 (☎279-2176)

- Abstract


The plant secretory pathway composes of multiple membrane-bounded functionally distinct organelles including endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and vacuoles. Prevacuolar compartments (PVCs) are membrane-bounded organelles that mediate protein traffic between Golgi and vacuoles in the plant secretory pathway. The nature of the PVCs remains unclear because no unambiguous markers have been generated for identifying and defining PVCs morphologically and functionally in plant cells. As a first step to characterize PVCs in plant cells, we have recently developed markers for defining PVCs in plant cells using confocal immunofluorescence and demonstrated that vacuolar sorting proteins (VSR) are predominantly concentrated on the lytic PVCs. Thus, VSR proteins are markers for PVCs. To further characterize plants PVCs and their dynamic relationship with Golgi in vivo, we have developed transgenic tobacco cell lines expressing various reporter proteins. Using these transgenic cell lines, we will test the hypothesis that two distinct PVCs are responsible for sorting proteins from Golgi to lytic vacuole and the protein storage vacuole. To characterize PVCs morphologically, we have also developed new anti-VSR antibodies for immunoEM localization. These newly developed anti-VSR antibodies label Golgi, Golgi network (TGN?), and PVC-like structures in pea cells in immunoEM.