Eukaryotic cells rely on the accuracy and efficiency of vesicular traffic. In plants, disturbances in vesicular trafficking are well studied in quickly dividing root meristem cells or polar growing root hairs and pollen tubes. The development of the female gametophyte, a unique haploid reproductive structure located in the ovule, has received far less attention in studies of vesicular transport. Key molecules providing the specificity of vesicle formation and its subsequent recognition and fusion with the acceptor membrane are Rab proteins. Rabs are anchored to membranes by covalently linked geranylgeranyl group(s) that are added by the Rab geranylgeranyl transferase (RGT) enzyme. Here we show that Arabidopsis plants carrying mutations in the gene encoding the β-subunit of RGT (rgtb1) exhibit severely disrupted female gametogenesis and this effect is of sporophytic origin. Mutations in rgtb1 lead to internalization of the PIN1 and PIN3 proteins from the basal membranes to vesicles in provascular cells of the funiculus. Decreased transport of auxin out of the ovule is accompanied by auxin accumulation in tissue surrounding the growing gametophyte. In addition, female gametophyte development arrests at the uni- or binuclear stage in a significant portion of the rgtb1 ovules. These observations suggest that communication between the sporophyte and the developing female gametophyte relies on Rab-dependent vesicular traffic of the PIN1 and PIN3 transporters and auxin efflux out of the ovule.

• Klíčová slova
• Arabidopsis, PIN1, PIN3, Rab, auxin transport, female gametophyte, funiculus, ovule, rab geranylgeranyl transferase,
• MeSH
• Arabidopsis * genetika   MeSH
• kyseliny indoloctové MeSH
• proteiny huseníčku * genetika   MeSH
• pylová láčka MeSH
• vajíčko rostlin genetika   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• kyseliny indoloctové MeSH
• proteiny huseníčku * MeSH

The heterooctameric vesicle-tethering complex exocyst is important for plant development, growth, and immunity. Multiple paralogs exist for most subunits of this complex; especially the membrane-interacting subunit EXO70 underwent extensive amplification in land plants, suggesting functional specialization. Despite this specialization, most Arabidopsis exo70 mutants are viable and free of developmental defects, probably as a consequence of redundancy among isoforms. Our in silico data-mining and modeling analysis, corroborated by transcriptomic experiments, pinpointed several EXO70 paralogs to be involved in plant biotic interactions. We therefore tested corresponding single and selected double mutant combinations (for paralogs EXO70A1, B1, B2, H1, E1, and F1) in their two biologically distinct responses to Pseudomonas syringae, root hair growth stimulation and general plant susceptibility. A shift in defense responses toward either increased or decreased sensitivity was found in several double mutants compared to wild type plants or corresponding single mutants, strongly indicating both additive and compensatory effects of exo70 mutations. In addition, our experiments confirm the lipid-binding capacity of selected EXO70s, however, without the clear relatedness to predicted C-terminal lipid-binding motifs. Our analysis uncovers that there is less of functional redundancy among isoforms than we could suppose from whole sequence phylogeny and that even paralogs with overlapping expression pattern and similar membrane-binding capacity appear to have exclusive roles in plant development and biotic interactions.

• Klíčová slova
• Arabidopsis thaliana, EXO70, biotic stress, exocyst, gene expression, lipid binding, redundancy, root hairs,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Protein prenylation is one of the most important posttranslational modifications of proteins. Prenylated proteins play important roles in different developmental processes as well as stress responses in plants as the addition of hydrophobic prenyl chains (mostly farnesyl or geranyl) allow otherwise hydrophilic proteins to operate as peripheral lipid membrane proteins. This review focuses on selected aspects connecting protein prenylation with plant responses to both abiotic and biotic stresses. It summarizes how changes in protein prenylation impact plant growth, deals with several families of proteins involved in stress response and highlights prominent regulatory importance of prenylated small GTPases and chaperons. Potential possibilities of these proteins to be applicable for biotechnologies are discussed.

• Klíčová slova
• plants, prenylated proteins, protein prenyl transferases, stress,
• MeSH
• biotechnologie MeSH
• fyziologický stres * MeSH
• prenylace proteinů * MeSH
• rostlinné proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• rostliny metabolismus   MeSH
• substrátová specifita MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• rostlinné proteiny MeSH