| Abstract Detail
Cell-to-Cell and Long Distance Signaling Hunzicker, Gretel M [1], Guelette, Brandon S [1], Chamberlin, Beverly [1], Benning, Urs F [2], Hoffmann-Benning, Susanne [3]. Characterization of Metabolites, Proteins and Transcripts in Arabidopsis thaliana Phloem Exudate Reveals the Presence of Lipids and Novel Metabolic Pathways. The plant phloem plays a crucial role in assimilate and nutrient transport, pathogen response, and in plant growth and development. It contains a multitude of compounds: small molecules, peptides and proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. Yet, few species have yielded pure phloem exudates, and if proteins need to be analyzed, those species tend not to have sequenced genomes, making identification difficult. With the analytical methodology getting increasingly sensitive, the complexity of the phloem becomes even more apparent. The next logical step on the path to elucidate the functions of all phloem macromolecules is the establishment of comprehensive databases of vascular genes and phloem-mobile transcripts, proteins, and metabolites. This work represents first steps towards this goal. We describe here a successful attempt to obtain pure phloem exudates from Arabidopsis in amounts large enough to allow for simultaneous metabolite, protein and RNA analysis (microarray). Using our method, we were able to isolate and unambiguously identify proteins present in the Arabidopsis phloem sap and study their function. We could detect fatty acids, lipids, proteins and indications of several regulatory systems, some of which had not been described before in sieve elements: (I) A phospho-myo-inositol-dependent system possibly involved in the regulation of phosphate homeostasis, (II) a lipid-binding/transport system and (III) the presence of FT and Sut4 mRNA as well as several RNA-binding proteins, which could potentially play a role in stabilization and transport of phloem-mobile mRNAs. This work is supported in part by MSU-Intramural grant # 05-IRGP-313
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1 - Michigan State University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
2 - East Lansing High School
3 - Michigan State University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
Keywords:
phloem
phloem transport
Arabidopsis
proteins
Lipids
metabolites
mRNA.
Presentation Type: Plant Biology Abstract
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P34001
Abstract ID:160 |
