- Structure of a plasmodesmata and their location within plant cells
- Plasmodesmata allow molecules to travel between plant cells through the symplastic pathway
Plasmodesmata (singular: plasmodesma) are microscopic channels which traverse the cell walls of plant cells [2] and some algal cells, enabling transport and communication between them. Plasmodesmata evolved independently in several lineages, [3] and species that have these structures include members of the Charophyceae, Charales, Coleochaetales and Phaeophyceae (which are all algae), as well as all embryophytes, better known as land plants. [4] Unlike animal cells, almost every plant cell is surrounded by a polysaccharide cell wall. Neighbouring plant cells are therefore separated by a pair of cell walls and the intervening middle lamella, forming an extracellular domain known as the apoplast. Although cell walls are permeable to small soluble proteins and other solutes, plasmodesmata enable direct, regulated, symplastic transport of substances between cells. There are two forms of plasmodesmata: primary plasmodesmata, which are formed during cell division, and secondary plasmodesmata, which can form between mature cells. [5]
Similar structures, called gap junctions [6] and membrane nanotubes, interconnect animal cells [7] and stromules form between plastids in plant cells. [8]
Primary plasmodesmata are formed when fractions of the endoplasmic reticulum are trapped across the middle lamella as new cell wall are synthesized between two newly divided plant cells. These eventually become the cytoplasmic connections between cells. At the formation site, the wall is not thickened further, and depressions or thin areas known as pits are formed in the walls. Pits normally pair up between adjacent cells. Plasmodesmata can also be inserted into existing cell walls between non-dividing cells (secondary plasmodesmata). [9]
The formation of primary plasmodesmata occurs during the part of the cellular division process where the endoplasmic reticulum and the new plate are fused together, this process results in the formation of a cytoplasmic pore (or cytoplasmic sleeve). The desmotubule, also known as the appressed ER, forms alongside the cortical ER. Both the appressed ER and the cortical ER are packed tightly together, thus leaving no room for any luminal space. It is proposed that the appressed ER acts as a membrane transportation route in the plasmodesmata. When filaments of the cortical ER are entangled in the formation of a new cell plate, plasmodesmata formation occurs in land plants. It is hypothesized that the appressed ER forms due to a combination of pressure from a growing cell wall and interaction from ER and PM proteins. Primary plasmodesmata are often present in areas where the cell walls appear to be thinner. This is due to the fact that as a cell wall expands, the abundance of the primary plasmodesmata decreases. In order to further expand plasmodesmal density during cell wall growth secondary plasmodesmata are produced. The process of secondary plasmodesmata formation is still to be fully understood, however various degrading enzymes and ER proteins are said to stimulate the process. [10]
A typical plant cell may have between 1,000 and 100,000 plasmodesmata connecting it with adjacent cells [11] equating to between 1 and 10 per μm2. [12] [ failed verification ] Plasmodesmata are approximately 50–60 nm in diameter at the midpoint and are constructed of three main layers, the plasma membrane, the cytoplasmic sleeve, and the desmotubule. [11] They can transverse cell walls that are up to 90 nm thick. [12]
The plasma membrane portion of the plasmodesma is a continuous extension of the cell membrane or plasmalemma and has a similar phospholipid bilayer structure. [13]
The cytoplasmic sleeve is a fluid-filled space enclosed by the plasmalemma and is a continuous extension of the cytosol. Trafficking of molecules and ions through plasmodesmata occurs through this space. Smaller molecules (e.g. sugars and amino acids) and ions can easily pass through plasmodesmata by diffusion without the need for additional chemical energy. Larger molecules, including proteins (for example green fluorescent protein) and RNA, can also pass through the cytoplasmic sleeve diffusively. [14] Plasmodesmatal transport of some larger molecules is facilitated by mechanisms that are currently unknown. One mechanism of regulation of the permeability of plasmodesmata is the accumulation of the polysaccharide callose around the neck region to form a collar, thereby reducing the diameter of the pore available for transport of substances. [13] Through dilation, active gating or structural remodeling the permeability of the plasmodesmata is increased. This increase in plasmodesmata pore permeability allows for larger molecules, or macromolecules, such as signaling molecules, transcription factors and RNA-protein complexes to be transported to various cellular compartments. [10]
The desmotubule is a tube of appressed (flattened) endoplasmic reticulum that runs between two adjacent cells. [15] Some molecules are known to be transported through this channel, [16] but it is not thought to be the main route for plasmodesmatal transport.
Around the desmotubule and the plasma membrane areas of an electron dense material have been seen, often joined together by spoke-like structures that seem to split the plasmodesma into smaller channels. [15] These structures may be composed of myosin [17] [18] [19] and actin, [18] [20] which are part of the cell's cytoskeleton. If this is the case these proteins could be used in the selective transport of large molecules between the two cells.
Plasmodesmata have been shown to transport proteins (including transcription factors), short interfering RNA, messenger RNA, viroids, and viral genomes from cell to cell. One example of a viral movement proteins is the tobacco mosaic virus MP-30. MP-30 is thought to bind to the virus's own genome and shuttle it from infected cells to uninfected cells through plasmodesmata. [14] Flowering Locus T protein moves from leaves to the shoot apical meristem through plasmodesmata to initiate flowering. [21]
Plasmodesmata are also used by cells in phloem, and symplastic transport is used to regulate the sieve-tube cells by the companion cells.[ citation needed ]
The size of molecules that can pass through plasmodesmata is determined by the size exclusion limit. This limit is highly variable and is subject to active modification. [5] For example, MP-30 is able to increase the size exclusion limit from 700 daltons to 9400 daltons thereby aiding its movement through a plant. [22] Also, increasing calcium concentrations in the cytoplasm, either by injection or by cold-induction, has been shown to constrict the opening of surrounding plasmodesmata and limit transport. [23]
Several models for possible active transport through plasmodesmata exist. It has been suggested that such transport is mediated by interactions with proteins localized on the desmotubule, and/or by chaperones partially unfolding proteins, allowing them to fit through the narrow passage. A similar mechanism may be involved in transporting viral nucleic acids through the plasmodesmata. [24] [ unreliable source? ]
A number of mathematical models have been suggested for estimating transport across plasmodesmata. These models have primarily treated transport as a diffusion problem with some added hindrance. [25] [26] [27]
Plasmodesmata link almost every cell within a plant, which can cause negative effects such as the spread of viruses. In order to understand this we must first look at cytoskeletal components, such as actin microfilaments, microtubules, and myosin proteins, and how they are related to cell to cell transport. Actin microfilaments are linked to the transport of viral movement proteins to plasmodesmata which allow for cell to cell transport through the plasmodesmata. Fluorescent tagging for co-expression in tobacco leaves showed that actin filaments are responsible for transporting viral movement proteins to the plasmodesmata. When actin polymerization was blocked it caused a decrease in plasmodesmata targeting of the movement proteins in the tobacco and allowed for 10-kDa (rather than 126-kDa) components to move between tobacco mesophyll cells. This also impacted cell to cell movement of molecules within the tobacco plant. [28]
Viruses break down actin filaments within the plasmodesmata channel in order to move within the plant. For example, when the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) gets into plants it is able to travel through almost every cell through utilization of viral movement proteins to transport themselves through the plasmodesmata. When tobacco leaves are treated with a drug that stabilizes actin filaments, phalloidin, the cucumber mosaic virus movement proteins are unable to increase the plasmodesmata size exclusion limit (SEL). [28]
High amounts of myosin proteins are found at the sites of plasmodesmata. These proteins are involved in directing viral cargoes to plasmodesmata. When mutant forms of myosin were tested in tobacco plants, viral protein targeting to plasmodesmata was negatively affected. Permanent binding of myosin to actin, which was induced by a drug, caused a decrease in cell to cell movement. Viruses are also able to selectively bind to myosin proteins. [28]
Microtubules have an important role in cell to cell transport of viral RNA. Viruses use many different methods of transporting themselves from cell to cell and one of those methods associating the N-terminal domain of its RNA to localize to plasmodesmata through microtubules. In tobacco plants injected with tobacco mosaic viruses that were kept in high temperatures there was a strong correlation between GFP-labelled TMV movement proteins and microtubules. This led to an increase in the spread of viral RNA through the tobacco. [28]
Plasmodesmata regulation and structure are regulated by a beta 1,3-glucan polymer known as callose. Callose is found in cell plates during the process of cytokinesis, but as this process reaches completion the levels of callose decrease.[ citation needed ] The only callose rich parts of the cell include the sections of the cell wall where plasmodesmata are present. In order to regulate what is transported through the plasmodesmata, callose must be present. Callose provides the mechanism by which plasmodesmata permeability is regulated. In order to control what is transported between different tissues, the plasmodesmata undergo several specialized conformational changes. [10]
The activity of plasmodesmata are linked to physiological and developmental processes within plants. There is a hormone signaling pathway that relays primary cellular signals via the plasmodesmata. There are also patterns of environmental, physiological, and developmental cues that show relation to plasmodesmata function. An important mechanism of plasmodesmata is the ability to gate its channels. Callose levels have been proved to be a method of changing plasmodesmata aperture size. [29] Callose deposits are found at the neck of the plasmodesmata in new cell walls that have been formed. The level of deposits at the plasmodesmata can fluctuate which shows that there are signals that trigger an accumulation of callose at the plasmodesmata and cause plasmodesmata to become gated or more open. Enzyme activities of Beta 1,3-glucan synthase and hydrolases are involved in changes in plasmodesmata cellulose level. Some extracellular signals change transcription of activities of this synthase and hydrolase. Arabidopsis thaliana has callose synthase genes that encode a catalytic subunit of B-1,3-glucan. Gain of function mutants in this gene pool show increased deposition of callose at plasmodesmata and a decrease in macromolecular trafficking as well as a defective root system during development. [28]
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all forms of life. Every cell consists of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane; many cells contain organelles, each with a specific function. The term comes from the Latin word cellula meaning 'small room'. Most cells are only visible under a microscope. Cells emerged on Earth about 4 billion years ago. All cells are capable of replication, protein synthesis, and motility.
The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is composed of similar proteins in the various organisms. It is composed of three main components: microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules, and these are all capable of rapid growth or disassembly depending on the cell's requirements.
Cytokinesis is the part of the cell division process and part of mitosis during which the cytoplasm of a single eukaryotic cell divides into two daughter cells. Cytoplasmic division begins during or after the late stages of nuclear division in mitosis and meiosis. During cytokinesis the spindle apparatus partitions and transports duplicated chromatids into the cytoplasm of the separating daughter cells. It thereby ensures that chromosome number and complement are maintained from one generation to the next and that, except in special cases, the daughter cells will be functional copies of the parent cell. After the completion of the telophase and cytokinesis, each daughter cell enters the interphase of the cell cycle.
Cell adhesion is the process by which cells interact and attach to neighbouring cells through specialised molecules of the cell surface. This process can occur either through direct contact between cell surfaces such as cell junctions or indirect interaction, where cells attach to surrounding extracellular matrix, a gel-like structure containing molecules released by cells into spaces between them. Cells adhesion occurs from the interactions between cell-adhesion molecules (CAMs), transmembrane proteins located on the cell surface. Cell adhesion links cells in different ways and can be involved in signal transduction for cells to detect and respond to changes in the surroundings. Other cellular processes regulated by cell adhesion include cell migration and tissue development in multicellular organisms. Alterations in cell adhesion can disrupt important cellular processes and lead to a variety of diseases, including cancer and arthritis. Cell adhesion is also essential for infectious organisms, such as bacteria or viruses, to cause diseases.
Cytoplasmic streaming, also called protoplasmic streaming and cyclosis, is the flow of the cytoplasm inside the cell, driven by forces from the cytoskeleton. It is likely that its function is, at least in part, to speed up the transport of molecules and organelles around the cell. It is usually observed in large plant and animal cells, greater than approximately 0.1 mm. In smaller cells, the diffusion of molecules is more rapid, but diffusion slows as the size of the cell increases, so larger cells may need cytoplasmic streaming for efficient function.
The symplast of a plant is the region enclosed by the cell membranes, within which water and solutes can diffuse freely. By contrast the apoplast is any fluid-filled space within the cell wall and extracellular space. Neighbouring cells are interconnected by microscopic channels known as plasmodesmata that traverse the cell walls. These channels, allow the flow of small molecules such as sugars, amino acids, and ions between cells. Larger molecules, including transcription factors and plant viruses, can also be transported through with the help of actin structures. The symplast allows direct cytoplasm-to-cytoplasm flow of water and other nutrients along concentration gradients. In particular, symplastic flow is used in the root systems to bring in nutrients from soil. Nutrient solutes move in this way through three skin layers of the roots: from cells of the epidermis, the outermost layer, through the cortex into the endodermis.
Plant viruses are viruses that have the potential to affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathogenic to vascular plants.
Cell junctions or junctional complexes are a class of cellular structures consisting of multiprotein complexes that provide contact or adhesion between neighboring cells or between a cell and the extracellular matrix in animals. They also maintain the paracellular barrier of epithelia and control paracellular transport. Cell junctions are especially abundant in epithelial tissues. Combined with cell adhesion molecules and extracellular matrix, cell junctions help hold animal cells together.
Tobamovirus is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family Virgaviridae. Many plants, including tobacco, potato, tomato, and squash, serve as natural hosts. Diseases associated with this genus include: necrotic lesions on leaves. The name Tobamovirus comes from the host and symptoms of the first virus discovered.
Motor proteins are a class of molecular motors that can move along the cytoskeleton of cells. They convert chemical energy into mechanical work by the hydrolysis of ATP. Flagellar rotation, however, is powered by a proton pump.
Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) is a virus of the tombusvirus family. It was first reported in tomatoes in 1935 and primarily affects vegetable crops, though it is not generally considered an economically significant plant pathogen. Depending upon the host, TBSV causes stunting of growth, leaf mottling, and deformed or absent fruit. The virus is likely to be soil-borne in the natural setting, but can also be transmitted mechanically, for example through contaminated cutting tools. TBSV has been used as a model system in virology research on the life cycle of plant viruses, particularly in experimental infections of the model host plant Nicotiana benthamiana.
A movement protein (MP) is a specific virus-encoded protein that is thought to be a general feature of plant genomes. For a virus to infect a plant, it must be able to move between cells so it can spread throughout the plant. Plant cell walls make this moving/spreading quite difficult and therefore, for this to occur, movement proteins must be present. Movement proteins allow for local and systemic viral spread throughout a plant. MPs were first studied in the Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV), where it was found that viruses were unable to spread without the presence of a specific protein. In general, the plant viruses first move within the cell from replication sites to the plasmodesmata (PD). Then, the virus can go through the PD and spread to other cells. This process is controlled through MPs. Different MPs use different mechanisms and pathways to regulate the spread of some viruses. Nearly all plants express at least one MP, while some can encode many different MPs which help with cell-to-cell viral transmission. They serve to increase the size exclusion limits (SEL) of plasmodesmata to allow for greater spread of the virus.
Potyvirus is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family Potyviridae. Plants serve as natural hosts. Like begomoviruses, members of this genus may cause significant losses in agricultural, pastoral, horticultural, and ornamental crops. More than 200 species of aphids spread potyviruses, and most are from the subfamily Aphidinae. The genus contains 190 species and potyviruses account for about thirty percent of all currently known plant viruses.
Cowpea chlorotic mottle virus, known by the abbreviation CCMV, is a virus that specifically infects the cowpea plant, or black-eyed pea. The leaves of infected plants develop yellow spots, hence the name "chlorotic". Similar to its "brother" virus, Cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), CCMV is produced in high yield in plants. In the natural host, viral particles can be produced at 1–2 mg per gram of infected leaf tissue. Belonging to the bromovirus genus, cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) is a small spherical plant virus. Other members of this genus include the brome mosaic virus (BMV) and the broad bean mottle virus (BBMV).
Vpu is an accessory protein that in HIV is encoded by the vpu gene. Vpu stands for "Viral Protein U". The Vpu protein acts in the degradation of CD4 in the endoplasmic reticulum and in the enhancement of virion release from the plasma membrane of infected cells. Vpu induces the degradation of the CD4 viral receptor and therefore participates in the general downregulation of CD4 expression during the course of HIV infection. Vpu-mediated CD4 degradation is thought to prevent CD4-Env binding in the endoplasmic reticulum to facilitate proper Env assembly into virions. It is found in the membranes of infected cells, but not the virus particles themselves.
Cell–cell interaction refers to the direct interactions between cell surfaces that play a crucial role in the development and function of multicellular organisms. These interactions allow cells to communicate with each other in response to changes in their microenvironment. This ability to send and receive signals is essential for the survival of the cell. Interactions between cells can be stable such as those made through cell junctions. These junctions are involved in the communication and organization of cells within a particular tissue. Others are transient or temporary such as those between cells of the immune system or the interactions involved in tissue inflammation. These types of intercellular interactions are distinguished from other types such as those between cells and the extracellular matrix. The loss of communication between cells can result in uncontrollable cell growth and cancer.
The cell membrane is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment. The cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer, made up of two layers of phospholipids with cholesterols interspersed between them, maintaining appropriate membrane fluidity at various temperatures. The membrane also contains membrane proteins, including integral proteins that span the membrane and serve as membrane transporters, and peripheral proteins that loosely attach to the outer (peripheral) side of the cell membrane, acting as enzymes to facilitate interaction with the cell's environment. Glycolipids embedded in the outer lipid layer serve a similar purpose.
Intracellular transport is the movement of vesicles and substances within a cell. Intracellular transport is required for maintaining homeostasis within the cell by responding to physiological signals. Proteins synthesized in the cytosol are distributed to their respective organelles, according to their specific amino acid’s sorting sequence. Eukaryotic cells transport packets of components to particular intracellular locations by attaching them to molecular motors that haul them along microtubules and actin filaments. Since intracellular transport heavily relies on microtubules for movement, the components of the cytoskeleton play a vital role in trafficking vesicles between organelles and the plasma membrane by providing mechanical support. Through this pathway, it is possible to facilitate the movement of essential molecules such as membrane‐bounded vesicles and organelles, mRNA, and chromosomes.
Phloem loading is the process of loading carbon into the phloem for transport to different 'sinks' in a plant. Sinks include metabolism, growth, storage, and other processes or organs that need carbon solutes to persist. It can be a passive process, relying on a pressure gradient to generate diffusion of solutes through the symplast, or an active process, requiring energy to create membrane-bound transporter proteins that move solutes through the apoplast against a gradient. Passive phloem loading transports solutes freely through plasmodesma in the symplast of the minor veins of leaves. Active transport occurs apoplastically and does not use plasmodesmata. An intermediate type of loading exists that uses symplastic transport but utilizes a size-exclusion mechanism to ensure diffusion is a one-way process between the mesophyll and phloem cells. This process is referred to as polymer-trapping, in which simple solutes such as sucrose are synthesized into larger molecules such as stachyose or raffinose in intermediary cells. The larger molecules cannot diffuse back to the mesophyll but can move into the phloem's sieve cells. Therefore, the synthesis of larger compounds uses energy and is thus 'active' but this strategy does not require specialized proteins and can still move symplastically.
A desmotubule is an endomembrane derived structure of the plasmodesmata that connects the endoplasmic reticulum of two adjacent plant cells. The desmotubule is not actually a tubule, but a compact, cylindrical segment of ER that is found within the larger tubule structure of the plasmodesmata pore. Some, but not all, transport of the plasmodesmata occurs through the desmotubule.