A pharmacological study of Arabidopsis cell fusion between the persistent synergid and endosperm

Kazuki Motomura, Tomokazu Kawashima, Frédéric Berger, Tetsu Kinoshita, Tetsuya Higashiyama, Daisuke Maruyama

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cell fusion is a pivotal process in fertilization and multinucleate cell formation. A plant cell is ubiquitously surrounded by a hard cell wall, and very few cell fusions have been observed except for gamete fusions. We recently reported that the fertilized central cell (the endosperm) absorbs the persistent synergid, a highly differentiated cell necessary for pollen tube attraction. The synergid-endosperm fusion (SE fusion) appears to eliminate the persistent synergid from fertilized ovule in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here, we analyzed the effects of various inhibitors on SE fusion in an in vitro culture system. Different from other cell fusions, neither disruption of actin polymerization nor protein secretion impaired SE fusion. However, transcriptional and translational inhibitors decreased the SE fusion success rate and also inhibited endosperm division. Failures of SE fusion and endosperm nuclear proliferation were also induced by roscovitine, an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK). These data indicate unique aspects of SE fusion such as independence of filamentous actin support and the importance of CDK-mediated mitotic control.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberjcs.204123
JournalJournal of Cell Science
Volume131
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Keywords

  • Double fertilization
  • Endosperm
  • Pollen tube
  • Polytubey block
  • Synergid endosperm fusion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A pharmacological study of Arabidopsis cell fusion between the persistent synergid and endosperm'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this