Investigation on cell death in the megagametophyte of Araucaria bidwillii Hook. post-germinated seeds
The megagametophyte of the Araucaria bidwillii seed is a storage tissue that surrounds and feeds the embryo. When all its reserves are mobilized, the megagametophyte degenerates as a no longer needed tissue. In this work we present a biochemical and a cytological characterization of the megagametoph...
| Publié dans: | Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB. - 1991. - 47(2009), 7 vom: 15. Juli, Seite 599-607 |
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| Auteur principal: | |
| Autres auteurs: | , , , |
| Format: | Article en ligne |
| Langue: | English |
| Publié: |
2009
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| Accès à la collection: | Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB |
| Sujets: | Journal Article DNA, Plant Plant Proteins Peptide Hydrolases EC 3.4.- Caspases EC 3.4.22.- |
| Résumé: | The megagametophyte of the Araucaria bidwillii seed is a storage tissue that surrounds and feeds the embryo. When all its reserves are mobilized, the megagametophyte degenerates as a no longer needed tissue. In this work we present a biochemical and a cytological characterization of the megagametophyte cell death. The TUNEL assay showed progressive DNA fragmentation throughout the post-germinative stages, while DNA electrophoretic analysis highlighted a smear as the predominant pattern of DNA degradation and internucleosomal DNA cleavage only for a minority of cells at late post-germinative stages. Cytological investigations at these stages detected profound changes in the size and morphology of the megagametophyte nuclei. By using in vitro assays, we were able to show a substantial increase in proteolytic activities, including caspase-like protease activities during the megagametophyte degeneration. Among the caspase-like enzymes, caspase 6- and 1-like proteases appeared to be the most active in the megagametophyte with a preference for acidic pH. On the basis of our results, we propose that the major pathway of cell death in the Araucaria bidwillii megagametophyte is necrosis; however, we do not exclude that some cells undergo developmental programmed cell death |
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| Description: | Date Completed 13.08.2009 Date Revised 30.09.2020 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1873-2690 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.plaphy.2009.02.012 |