美国圣路易斯华盛顿大学Elizabeth S. Haswell团队发现，植物PIEZO同源物在顶端生长过程中调控液泡形态。这一研究成果发表在2021年7月30日出版的国际学术期刊《科学》上。

研究人员揭示了PIEZO在苔藓Physcomitrium patens和开花植物Arabidopsis thaliana顶端生长细胞的功能。PpPIEZO1和PpPIEZO2冗余地促进了caulonemal细胞的正常生长、大小和细胞质钙震荡。PpPIEZO1和PpPIEZO2都定位到液泡膜上。功能缺失、功能获得和过量表达的突变体显示，苔藓PIEZO同源物通过管腔化、内化和/或裂变促进空泡膜的复杂性增加。

拟南芥PIEZO1也定位于液泡膜，并且是花粉管顶端的液泡管腔化所必需的。研究人员提出，在植物细胞中，液泡比质膜有更多的运动自由，使机械感知蛋白到达更有效的位置。

据了解，在动物中，PIEZO是质膜定位的阳离子通道，参与各种机械感觉过程。

附：英文原文

Title: Plant PIEZO homologs modulate vacuole morphology during tip growth

Author: Ivan Radin, Ryan A. Richardson, Joshua H. Coomey, Ethan R. Weiner, Carlisle S. Bascom, Ting Li, Magdalena Bezanilla, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Issue&Volume: 2021/07/30

Abstract: In animals, PIEZOs are plasma membrane–localized cation channels involved in diverse mechanosensory processes. We investigated PIEZO function in tip-growing cells in the moss Physcomitrium patens and the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. PpPIEZO1 and PpPIEZO2 redundantly contribute to the normal growth, size, and cytoplasmic calcium oscillations of caulonemal cells. Both PpPIEZO1 and PpPIEZO2 localized to vacuolar membranes. Loss-of-function, gain-of-function, and overexpression mutants revealed that moss PIEZO homologs promote increased complexity of vacuolar membranes through tubulation, internalization, and/or fission. Arabidopsis PIEZO1 also localized to the tonoplast and is required for vacuole tubulation in the tips of pollen tubes. We propose that in plant cells the tonoplast has more freedom of movement than the plasma membrane, making it a more effective location for mechanosensory proteins.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abe6310

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6554/586