Plasma membrane-anchored chloroplasts are necessary for the gravisensing system of Ceratopteris richardii prothalli

Hiroyuki Kamachi*, Daisuke Tamaoki, Ichirou Karahara

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The prothalli of the fern Ceratopteris richardii exhibit negative gravitropism when grown in darkness. However, no sedimentable organelles or substances have been detected in the prothallial cells, suggesting that a non-sedimentable gravisensor exists. We investigated whether chloroplasts are involved in the gravisensing system of C. richardii prothalli. We used a clumped-chloroplast mutant, clumped chloroplast 1 (cp1), in which the chloroplasts are detached from the plasma membrane and clustered around the nucleus likely because of a partial deletion in the KINESIN-LIKE PROTEIN FOR ACTIN-BASED CHLOROPLAST MOVEMENT 1 gene. The cp1 mutation resulted in prothalli that had a significantly diminished gravitropic response, while the phototropic response occurred normally. These results suggest that plasma membrane-anchored chloroplasts in prothallial cells function as one of the gravisensors in C. richardii prothalli.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)397-405
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Plant Research
Volume130
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017/03/01

Keywords

  • Ceratopteris richardii
  • Fern gametophyte
  • Gravitropism
  • Gravity perception

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Plant Science

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