Chloroplasts extend stromules independently and in response to internal redox signals
Abstract
Chloroplasts are critical, dynamic organelles in plant cells responsible for photosynthesis and myriad other aspects of metabolism. In recent years, plant cell biologists have increasingly focused on the formation of thin, long extensions from plastids called "stromules." Although stromules have been observed in all land plant species and cell types investigated, we do not know why these projections form or what they do. Here we demonstrate that stromules form in response to light-related redox signals inside the chloroplast. We then show that chloroplasts extracted from plant cells can make stromules independently. These discoveries suggest that stromules may be involved in transmitting signals from within the chloroplast to other subcellular compartments.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- August 2015
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2015PNAS..11210044B