Plasma membrane H<sup>+</sup>‐ATPases‐mediated cytosolic proton gradient regulates pollen tube growth
Wei Chen, Pengfei Jia, Wei‐Cai Yang, Hong‐Ju Li
Abstract
Abstract The polar growth of pollen tubes is essential for the delivery of sperm cells during fertilization in angiosperms. How this polar growth is regulated has been a long‐standing question. An in vitro pharmacological assay previously implicated proton flux in pollen tube growth, although genetic and cellular supporting evidence was lacking. Here, we report that protons form a gradient from the pollen tube tip to the shank region and this gradient is generated by three members of A rabidopsis H + ‐ A TPases (AHAs). Genetic analysis suggested that these AHAs are essential for pollen tube growth, thus providing new insight into the regulation of polar growth.
Topics & Concepts
Pollen tubePollenProtonGametophytePolarSpermBiologyATPaseElectrochemical gradientBiophysicsBotanyHuman fertilizationCell biologyProton pumpTube (container)MembraneBiochemistryPollinationGeneticsPhysicsEnzymeMaterials scienceAstronomyQuantum mechanicsComposite materialPhotosynthetic Processes and MechanismsPlant Reproductive BiologyPlant Molecular Biology Research