Plasma membrane H+-ATPases sustain pollen tube growth and fertilization

Robert D. Hoffmann, Maria Teresa Portes, Lene Irene Olsen, Daniel Santa Cruz Damineli, Maki Hayashi, Custódio O. Nunes, Jesper T. Pedersen, Pedro T. Lima, Cláudia Campos, José A. Feijó () and Michael Palmgren ()
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Robert D. Hoffmann: University of Copenhagen
Maria Teresa Portes: University of Maryland
Lene Irene Olsen: University of Copenhagen
Daniel Santa Cruz Damineli: University of Maryland
Maki Hayashi: University of Copenhagen
Custódio O. Nunes: University of Maryland
Jesper T. Pedersen: University of Copenhagen
Pedro T. Lima: Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência
Cláudia Campos: Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência
José A. Feijó: University of Maryland
Michael Palmgren: University of Copenhagen

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Pollen tubes are highly polarized tip-growing cells that depend on cytosolic pH gradients for signaling and growth. Autoinhibited plasma membrane proton (H+) ATPases (AHAs) have been proposed to energize pollen tube growth and underlie cell polarity, however, mechanistic evidence for this is lacking. Here we report that the combined loss of AHA6, AHA8, and AHA9 in Arabidopsis thaliana delays pollen germination and causes pollen tube growth defects, leading to drastically reduced fertility. Pollen tubes of aha mutants had reduced extracellular proton (H+) and anion fluxes, reduced cytosolic pH, reduced tip-to-shank proton gradients, and defects in actin organization. Furthermore, mutant pollen tubes had less negative membrane potentials, substantiating a mechanistic role for AHAs in pollen tube growth through plasma membrane hyperpolarization. Our findings define AHAs as energy transducers that sustain the ionic circuit defining the spatial and temporal profiles of cytosolic pH, thereby controlling downstream pH-dependent mechanisms essential for pollen tube elongation, and thus plant fertility.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16253-1

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