Possible Involvement of NADPH Oxidase in Lanthanide Cation-Induced Superoxide Anion Generation in BY-2 Tobacco Cell Suspension Culture

A rapid and concentration-dependent generation of superoxide anion （·O2^-）, measured with a superoxide-specific Cypridina luciferin-derived chemiluminescent reagent, was observed when two lanthanide salts （LaCl3 and CdCl3 ） were added to tobacco （ Nicotiana tabacum） cell suspension culture. Addition of superoxide dismutase （480 U·ml^-1） and Tiron （5 μmol·L^-1） to cell culture suspension decreases the level of lanthanide cation-induced ·O2^- generation, suggesting that ·O2^- generation is extra-cellular. Pretreatment of the cell culture suspension with diphenyleneiodonium （10 and 50 μmol·L^-1 ）, quinacrine （ 1 and 5 mmol· L^-1 ） and imidazol （ 10 mmol· L^-1 ）, inhibitors of NADPH oxidase, notably inhibits the generation of superoxide induced by lanthanide cation, implying the possible involvement of activation of NADPH oxidase. In addition, addition of SHAM （1 and 5 mmol· L^-1）, azide （0.2 and 1 mmol· L^-1 ）, inhibitor of peroxidase, has no influence on ·O2^- generation.

Dihydrosphingosine-lnduced Programmed Cell Death in Tobacco BY-2 Cells Is Independent of H2O2 Production

Sphinganine or dihydrosphingosine （d18：0, DHS）, one of the most abundant free sphingoid Long Chain Base （LCB） in plants, has been recently shown to induce both cytosolic and nuclear calcium transient increases and a correlated Programmed Cell Death （PCD） in tobacco BY-2 cells. In this study, in order to get deeper insight into the LCB signaling pathway leading to cell death, the putative role of Reactive Oxygen Species （ROS） has been investigated. We show that DHS triggers a rapid dose-dependent production of H2O2 that is blocked by diphenyleniodonium （DPI）, indicating the involvement of NADPH oxidase（s） in the process. In addition, while DPI does not block DHS-induced calcium increases, the ROS production is inhibited by the broad spectrum calcium channel blocker lanthanum （La^3＋）. Therefore, ROS production occurs downstream of DHS-induced Ca^2＋ transients. Interestingly, DHS activates expression of defense-related genes that is inhibited by both La^3＋ and DPI. Since DPI does not prevent DHS-induced cell death, these results strongly indicate that DHS-induced H2O2 production is not implicated in PCD mechanisms but rather would be associated to basal cell defense mechanisms.

Live-Cell Imaging of Dual-Labeled Golgi Stacks in Tobacco BY-2 Cells Reveals Similar Behaviors for Different Cisternae during Movement and Brefeldin A Treatment

In plant cells, the Golgi apparatus consists of numerous stacks that, in turn, are composed of several flattened cisternae with a clear cis-to-trans polarity. During normal functioning within living cells, this unusual organelle displays a wide range of dynamic behaviors such as whole stack motility, constant membrane flux through the cisternae, and Golgi enzyme recycling through the ER. In order to further investigate various aspects of Golgi stack dynamics and integrity, we co-expressed pairs of established Golgi markers in tobacco BY-2 cells to distinguish sub-compartments of the Golgi during monensin treatments, movement, and brefeldin A （BFA）-induced disassembly. A combination of cis and trans markers revealed that Golgi stacks remain intact as they move through the cytoplasm. The Golgi stack orientation during these movements showed a slight preference for the cis side moving ahead, but trans cisternae were also found at the leading edge. During BFA treatments, the different sub-compartments of about half of the observed stacks fused with the ER sequentially; however, no consistent order could be detected. In contrast, the ionophore monensin resulted in swelling of trans cisternae while medial and particularly cis cisternae were mostly unaffected. Our results thus demonstrate a re- markable equivalence of the different cisternae with respect to movement and BFA-induced fusion with the ER. In addi- tion, we propose that a combination of dual-label fluorescence microscopy and drug treatments can provide a simple alternative approach to the determination of protein localization to specific Golgi sub-compartments.

Simplification of vacuole structure during plant cell death triggered by culture filtrates of Erwinia carotovora

Vacuoles are suggested to play crucial roles in plant defense-related cell death. During programmed cell death, previous live cell imaging studies have observed vacuoles to become simpler in structure and have implicated this simplification as a prelude to the vacuole＇s rupture and consequent lysis of the plasma membrane. Here, we examined dynamics of the vacuole in cell cycle-synchronized tobacco BY-2 （Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Bright Yellow 2） cells during ceil death induced by application of culture filtrates of Erwinia carotovora. The filtrate induced death in about 90% of the cells by 24 h. Prior to cell death, vacuole shape simplified and endoplasmic actin filaments disassembled; however, the vacuoles did not rupture until after plasma membrane integrity was lost. Instead of facilitating rupture, the simplification of vacuole structure might play a role in the retrieval of membrane components needed for defense-related cell death.

Ectopic Expression of a Bacterium NhaD-type Na^+/H^+ Antiporter Leads to Increased Tolerance to Combined Salt/Alkali Stresses

AaNhaD, a gene isolated from the soda lake alkaliphile Alkalimonas amylolytica, encodes a Na＋/H＋ antiporter crucial for the bacterium＇s resistance to salt/alkali stresses. However, it remains unknown whether this type of bacterial gene may be able to increase the tolerance of flowering plants to salt/alkali stresses. To investigate the use of extremophile genetic resources in higher plants, transgenic tobacco BY-2 cells and plants harboring AaNhaDwere generated and their stress tolerance was evaluated. Ectopic expression of AaNhaD enhanced the salt tolerance of the transgenic BY-2 cells in a pH-dependent manner. Compared to wild-type controls, the transgenic cells exhibited increased Na＋ concentrations and pH levels in the vacuoles. Subcellular localization analysis indicated that AaNhaD-GFP fusion proteins were primarily localized in the tonoplasts. Similar to the transgenic BY-2 cells, AaNhaD.overexpressing tobacco plants displayed enhanced stress tolerance when grown in saline-alkali soil. These results indicate that AaNhaD functions as a pH-dependent tonoplast Na＋/H＋ antiporter in plant cells, thus presenting a new avenue for the genetic improvement of salinity/alkalinity tolerance.

Molecular Characterization of Plant Prevacuolar and Endosomal Compartments

Prevacuolar compartments （PVCs） and endosomal compartments are membrane-bound organelles mediating protein traffic to vacuoles in the secretory and endocytic pathways of plant cells. Over the years, great progress has been made towards our understanding in these two compartments in plant cells. In this review, we will summarize our contributions toward the identification and characterization of plant prevacuolar and endosomal compartments. Our studies will serve as important steps in future molecular characterization of PVC biogenesis and PVC-mediated protein traffickinq in plant cells.