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Silencing of the tobacco pollen pectin methylesterase NtPPME1 results in retarded in vivo pollen tube growth

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Abstract

Sperm delivery in flowering plants requires extensive pollen tube growth through the female sporophytic tissues of the pistil. The apical cell wall emerges as a central player in the control of pollen tube growth, since it provides strength to withstand the internal turgor pressure, while imparting sufficient plasticity to allow cell wall extension through the incorporation of new membrane and wall material. Within this scenario, pectin methylesterases (PMEs; EC 3.1.1.11) emerge as crucial regulators in determining the mechanical properties of pectins, the major component of the apical pollen tube wall. We previously identified NtPPME1, a pollen specific PME from Nicotiana tabacum. Here we show that silencing of NtPPME1 results in a mild but significant decrease of in vivo pollen tube growth while the overall PME activity in pollen is not significantly affected. Although the precise mechanisms responsible for the observed phenotype are not known, it seems likely that the cell must maintain a closely regulated level of PME activity in order to maintain the equilibrium between strength and plasticity in the apical cell wall. A relatively minor disturbance of this equilibrium, as caused by NtPPME1 silencing, compromises pollen tube growth.

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Abbreviations

AS-NtPPME1:

Antisense NtPPME1

PME:

Pectin methylesterase

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Acknowledgements

We thank Alice Cheung and her colleagues (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts) for the GFP-expressing N. tabacum pollen and plant transformation facilities. Teddi Bloniarz and Monika Johnson from the Biology Greenhouse Facility are thanked for excellent care of the plants. All microscopy images were acquired at the Central Microscopy Facility (NSF BBS 8714235). This project was supported by the National Science Foundation grant No. MCB-0077599 and MCB-0516852 to PKH.

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  1. Maurice Bosch

    Present address: School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Maurice Bosch & Peter K. Hepler

  2. Plant Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Peter K. Hepler

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  1. Maurice Bosch
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  2. Peter K. Hepler
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Correspondence to Maurice Bosch.

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Bosch, M., Hepler, P.K. Silencing of the tobacco pollen pectin methylesterase NtPPME1 results in retarded in vivo pollen tube growth. Planta 223, 736–745 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-005-0131-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-005-0131-x

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