Arabidopsis pollen TIPs involved in pollen tube elongation

SOTO, GABRIELA; FOX, ROMINA; ALLEVA, KARINA; MAZZELLA, AGUSTINA; AMODEO, GABRIELA; MUSCHIETTI, JORGE

San Miguel de Tucumán

Congreso; XLV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular; 2009

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y en Biología Molecular

Reproduction in flowering plants includes processes where water and/ or solutes movements must be finely regulated, like pollen germination and pollen tube elongation. These regulations suggest the participation of aquaporins mediating water and solutes transport. AtTIP5;1 and AtTIP1;3 are the only aquaporins that are selectively and highly expressed in   Arabidopsis thaliana mature pollen.  In a heterologous system (Xenopus oocytes), both TIPs showed urea and water transport but neither glycerol nor boric acid. We found that tip1;3 and tip5;1 homozygous mutant plants showed significantly reduced pollen tube length under nitrogen starvation. This data suggests that TIP1;3 and TIP5;1 are involved in nitrogen metabolism during pollen tube elongation.