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The Plant Cell 18:2100

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IN BRIEF

Single-Cell C4 Photosynthesis in Chenopodiaceae Species

Nancy A. Eckardt, News and Reviews Editor

neckardt{at}aspb.org

The family Chenopodiaceae contains ~1300 species, including vegetable crops such as spinach and beets, and desert plants such as Atriplex (saltbush). Many chenopod species have C4 photosynthesis. Chenopods Bienertia cycloptera, Bienertia sinuspersici, and Suaeda aralocaspica recently were found to possess novel mechanisms for C4 photosynthesis by compartmentalization of organelles and photosynthetic enzymes into distinct regions within chlorenchyma cells. This compartmentalization achieves the equivalent of the spatial separation of cells called Kranz anatomy typically found in C4 species but within a single cell. Bienertia has peripheral and central compartments, while S. aralocaspica has distal and proximal compartments.

Chuong et al. (pages 2207–2223) investigated the mechanisms of organelle compartmentalization and the distribution of major organelles relative to the cytoskeleton in these three species using immunofluorescence and transient expression of green fluorescent protein–tagged cytoskeleton markers. The results revealed distinct cytoskeletal compartments consisting of a highly organized network of actin filaments and microtubules associated with the chloroplasts. Experiments using cytoskeleton-disrupting drugs further showed that microtubules are critical for the polarized positioning of chloroplasts and other organelles into distinct compartments within the chlorenchyma cells.


Figure 1
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  		Confocal microscopy images show the distal and proximal compartments in S. aralocaspica (left) and peripheral and central compartments in B. sinuspersici (right). Nuclei (N) are green, and chloroplasts are red.

 
Footnotes

www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.106.180911


Related articles in Plant Cell:

The Cytoskeleton Maintains Organelle Partitioning Required for Single-Cell C4 Photosynthesis in Chenopodiaceae Species
Simon D.X. Chuong, Vincent R. Franceschi, and Gerald E. Edwards
Plant Cell 2006 18: 2207-2223. [Abstract] [Full Text]  




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