Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jan;254(1):43-56.
doi: 10.1007/s00709-016-0945-3. Epub 2016 Feb 10.

Plant ER geometry and dynamics: biophysical and cytoskeletal control during growth and biotic response

Lawrence R Griffing  1 , Congping Lin  2 , Chiara Perico  3 , Rhiannon R White  3 , Imogen Sparkes  4
Affiliations
Review

Plant ER geometry and dynamics: biophysical and cytoskeletal control during growth and biotic response

Lawrence R Griffing et al. Protoplasma. 2017 Jan.

Abstract

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an intricate and dynamic network of membrane tubules and cisternae. In plant cells, the ER 'web' pervades the cortex and endoplasm and is continuous with adjacent cells as it passes through plasmodesmata. It is therefore the largest membranous organelle in plant cells. It performs essential functions including protein and lipid synthesis, and its morphology and movement are linked to cellular function. An emerging trend is that organelles can no longer be seen as discrete membrane-bound compartments, since they can physically interact and 'communicate' with one another. The ER may form a connecting central role in this process. This review tackles our current understanding and quantification of ER dynamics and how these change under a variety of biotic and developmental cues.

Keywords: Actin; Endoplasmic reticulum; Microtubules; Movement; Myosin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with ethical standard Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The cortical ER in plant cells is highly dynamic. Confocal image of tobacco leaf epidermal cells expressing an ER luminal marker (GFP-HDEL). a Overlay of three consecutive images taken 15 s apart where white indicates GFP-HDEL fluorescence at all three time points: b green = 0 s, c blue = 15 s and d magenta = 30 s. Images taken from Supp. Movie 1. Scale bar = 5 μm
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Montage of tubule fusion in myosin xi-k, xi-1, xi-2 Arabidopsis triple mutant. Lower left numbers are in seconds. a Polygon from which a new branch is forming at the top vertex. b Tubule branch forming at three-way junction (rare tubule branches usually form at kinks) c filled cisterna, typical of triple mutant. d Right-hand tubule of polygon (a) dilates and becomes partially cisternal. e End of retraction cycle new branch from polygon. f End-on fusion of tubule branches. Scale bar = 4 μm
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Schematic representation of molecular control of plant ER movement. Organelle interactions with the ER (yellow) are depicted where red triangles refer to reported (or inferred) interactions, and known molecular components for ER-PM are highlighted (a). Different models for how ER-organelle-driven motion may control ER movement (b–d). The ER might be pulled by a moving organelle tethered to the ER itself (b), the moving ER might carry the tethered organelle (c) or the movement of tethered organelles are driven through coordinated action of motors specific for each organelle (d)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Close positioning of organelles next to the ER in tobacco leaf epidermal cells. Confocal images of tobacco leaf epidermal cells expressing an ER luminal marker shown in green, with organelle markers shown in magenta: a Golgi, b mitochondria and c peroxisomes. c Chloroplast autofluoresence is shown in cyan. Images taken from Supp. Movie 2. Scale bar = 5 μm
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
A schematic diagram of a tip-growing cell showing the polarized organization of organelles in relation to the endoplasmic reticulum. Although not shown, myosin is highest at the apical side of the ER scaffold, near the point of MT crossover. The scaffold is shown as a complex, condensed network of ER tubules, some of which emerge and transiently connect with the plasma membrane in the apex
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
The presence of an ER ball or scaffold at the apex of a growing root hair of Nicotiana benthamiana constitutively expressing GFP-HDEL. Image is an average intensity projection of a series of optical sections taken with a lattice light sheet microscope in collaboration with John Heddleston and Teng-Leong Chew at the Advanced Imaging Center in Janelia-HHMI Research Campus, Ashburn VA. Scale bar = 5 μm
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Andersson MX, Goksor M, Sandelius AS. Optical manipulation reveals strong attracting forces at membane contact sites between endoplasmic reticulum and chloroplasts. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2007;282:1170–1174. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M608124200. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Avisar D, Abu-Abied M, Belausov E, Sadot E, Hawes C, Sparkes IA. A comparative study of the involvement of 17 Arabidopsis myosin family members on the motility of Golgi and other organelles. Plant Physiology. 2009;150:700–709. doi: 10.1104/pp.109.136853. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Avisar D, Prokhnevsky AI, Makarova KS, Koonin EV, Dolja VV. Myosin XI-K is required for rapid trafficking of Golgi stacks, peroxisomes and mitochondria in leaf cells of Nicotiana benthamiana. Plant Physiology. 2008;146:1098–1108. doi: 10.1104/pp.107.113647. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Braun M. Association of spectrin-like proteins with the actin-organized aggregate of endoplasmic reticulum in the Spitzenkorper of gravitropically tip-growing plant cells. Plant Physiol. 2001;125:1611–1619. doi: 10.1104/pp.125.4.1611. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Braun M, Wasteneys GO. Distribution and dynamics of the cytoskeleton in graviresponding protonemata and rhizoids of characean algae: exclusion of microtubules and a convergence of actin filaments in the apex suggest an actin-mediated gravitropism. Planta. 1998;205:39–50. doi: 10.1007/s004250050294. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources