A plant plasma membrane Ca2+ pump is required for normal pollen tube growth and fertilization.
Ca(2+) signals are thought to play important roles in plant growth and development, including key aspects of pollen tube growth and fertilization. The dynamics of a Ca(2+) signal are largely controlled by influx (through channels) and efflux (through pumps and antiporters). The Arabidopsis genome encodes 14 Ca(2+) pumps, 10 of which belong to a family of autoinhibited Ca(2+) ATPases (ACA) that are predicted to be activated by Ca(2+)/calmodulin. Here, we show that isoform ACA9 is expressed primarily in pollen and localized to the plasma membrane. Three independent T-DNA [portion of the Ti (tumor-inducing) plasmid that is transferred to plant cells] gene disruptions of ACA9 were found to result in partial male sterility. Complementation was observed by using a ACA9-yellow fluorescence protein (YFP) fusion that displayed plasma membrane localization. Mutant aca9 pollen displayed a reduced growth potential and a high frequency of aborted fertilization, resulting in a >80% reduction in seed set. These findings identify a plasma membrane Ca(2+) transporter as a key regulator of pollen development and fertilization in flowering plants.[1]References
- A plant plasma membrane Ca2+ pump is required for normal pollen tube growth and fertilization. Schiøtt, M., Romanowsky, S.M., Baekgaard, L., Jakobsen, M.K., Palmgren, M.G., Harper, J.F. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (2004) [Pubmed]
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