Pollen development and fertilization in Arabidopsis is dependent on the MALE GAMETOGENESIS IMPAIRED ANTHERS gene encoding a Type V P-type ATPase

  1. Mia Kyed Jakobsen,1,
  2. Lisbeth R. Poulsen,1,
  3. Alexander Schulz,1,
  4. Pierrette Fleurat-Lessard,3,
  5. Annette Møller,1,
  6. Søren Husted,2,
  7. Morten Schiøtt,1,
  8. Anna Amtmann,4, and
  9. Michael G. Palmgren,1,5
  1. 1Department of Plant Biology and 2Department of Agricultural Sciences, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark; 3Laboratoire de Physiologie et Biochimie Végétales, Unite de Recherche Associée au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 574, Universite de Poitiers, 86000 Poitiers, France; 4Plant Science Group, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom

Abstract

In flowering plants, development of the haploid male gametophytes (pollen grains) takes place in a specialized structure called the anther. Successful pollen development, and thus reproduction, requires high secretory activity in both anther tissues and pollen. In this paper, we describe a novel member of the eukaryotic type V subfamily (P5) of P-type ATPase cation pumps, the MALE GAMETOGENESIS IMPAIRED ANTHERS (MIA) gene. MIA protein is highly abundant in the endoplasmic reticulum and small vesicles of developing pollen grains and tapetum cells. T-DNA insertional mutants of MIA suffer from imbalances in cation homeostasis and exhibit a severe reduction in fertility. Mutant microspores fail to separate from tetrads and pollen grains are fragile with an abnormal morphology and altered cell wall structure. Disruption of MIA affects expression of genes essential for secretion as well as a high number of genes encoding cell wall proteins and membrane transporters. MIA functionally complements a mutant in the P5 ATPase homolog SPF1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting a common function for P5 ATPases in single and multicellular organisms. Our results suggest that MIA is required in the secretory pathway for proper secretion of vesicle cargo to the plasma membrane.

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Footnotes

  • Supplemental material is available at http://www.genesdev.org.

  • Article and publication are at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.357305.

  • 5 Corresponding author.

    5 E-MAIL palmgren{at}kvl.dk; FAX 45-3528-3365.

    • Accepted September 5, 2005.
    • Received June 27, 2005.
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