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The Ca(2+) status of the endoplasmic reticulum is altered by induction of calreticulin expression in transgenic plantsTo investigate the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) stores in plant cells, we generated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum; NT1) suspension cells and Arabidopsis plants with altered levels of calreticulin (CRT), an ER-localized Ca(2+)-binding protein. NT1 cells and Arabidopsis plants were transformed with a maize (Zea mays) CRT gene in both sense and antisense orientations under the control of an Arabidopsis heat shock promoter. ER-enriched membrane fractions from NT1 cells were used to examine how altered expression of CRT affects Ca(2+) uptake and release. We found that a 2.5-fold increase in CRT led to a 2-fold increase in ATP-dependent (45)Ca(2+) accumulation in the ER-enriched fraction compared with heat-shocked wild-type controls. Furthermore, after treatment with the Ca(2+) ionophore ionomycin, ER microsomes from NT1 cells overproducing CRT showed a 2-fold increase in the amount of (45)Ca(2+) released, and a 2- to 3-fold increase in the amount of (45)Ca(2+) retained compared with wild type. These data indicate that altering the production of CRT affects the ER Ca(2+) pool. In addition, CRT transgenic Arabidopsis plants were used to determine if altered CRT levels had any physiological effects. We found that the level of CRT in heat shock-induced CRT transgenic plants correlated positively with the retention of chlorophyll when the plants were transferred from Ca(2+)-containing medium to Ca(2+)-depleted medium. Together these data are consistent with the hypothesis that increasing CRT in the ER increases the ER Ca(2+) stores and thereby enhances the survival of plants grown in low Ca(2+) medium.
Document ID
20040112362
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Persson, S.
(North Carolina State University Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7612, United States)
Wyatt, S. E.
Love, J.
Thompson, W. F.
Robertson, D.
Boss, W. F.
Brown, C. S.
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 2001
Publication Information
Publication: Plant physiology
Volume: 126
Issue: 3
ISSN: 0032-0889
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
NASA Discipline Plant Biology
Non-NASA Center

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