F. Baluska - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by F. Baluska
2,3-Butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) is a general inhibitor of myosin ATPases of eukaryotic cells, an... more 2,3-Butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) is a general inhibitor of myosin ATPases of eukaryotic cells, and its effects on animal and yeast cells are well described. Using immunofluorescence and electron microscopy, we have analyzed the impacts of BDM on distributions of plant myosins, actin filaments (AFs), microtubules (MTs), and cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) elements in various cell types of maize root apices. Treatment of growing maize roots with BDM altered the typical distribution patterns of unconventional plant myosin VIII and of putative maize homologue(s) of myosin II. This pharmacological agent also induced a broad range of impacts on AFs and on cortical ER elements associated with plasmodesmata and pit fields. BDM-mediated effects on the actomyosin cytoskeleton were especially pronounced in cells of the root transition zone. Additionally, BDM elicited distinct reactions in the MT cytoskeleton; endoplasmic MTs vanished in all cells of the transition zone and cortical MTs ass...
Actin: A Dynamic Framework for Multiple Plant Cell Functions, 2000
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can be observed in living plant cells by fluorescence and video mi... more The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can be observed in living plant cells by fluorescence and video microscopy. Both its distribution and its dynamic properties seem largely to depend on actin and myosin. Actin filaments (AFs) provide a framework for the spacing of the cortical, lace-like ER elements and of the ER strands. Moreover, AFs are held responsible for the extension of ER tubules and lamellae as well as for their motility. Synchronized movements of ER and other organelles of plant cells seem to depend on co-localizations of ER and AFs. We summarize the growing body of evidence that the motility of plant ER is based preferentially on the actin cytoskeleton.
Plant signaling & behavior, 2008
The plant hormone auxin is secreted in root apices via phospholipase Dzeta2 (PLDzeta2) activity w... more The plant hormone auxin is secreted in root apices via phospholipase Dzeta2 (PLDzeta2) activity which produces specific population of phosphatidic acid that stimulates secretion of vesicles enriched with auxin. These vesicles were reported to be localized at plant synapses which are active in auxin secretion, especially at the transition zone of the root apex. There are several implications of this vesicular secretion of auxin. In root apices, auxin emerges as plant neurotransmitter-like signal molecule which coordinates activities of adjacent cells via electric and chemical signaling. Putative quantal release of auxin after electrical stimulation, if confirmed, would be part of neuronal communication between plant cells. As auxin transport across plant synapses is tightly linked with integrated sensory perception of environment, especially of omnipresent gravity and light, this process is proposed to mediate the plant perception of environment. These neuronal features allow sessile...
Plant and Cell Physiology, 2012
Roots are very sensitive to hypoxia and adapt effectively to a reduced availability of oxygen in ... more Roots are very sensitive to hypoxia and adapt effectively to a reduced availability of oxygen in the soil. However, the site of the root where oxygen availability is sensed and how roots acclimate to hypoxia remain unclear. In this study, we found that the root apex transition zone plays central roles in both sensing and adapting to root hypoxia. The exposure of cells of the root apex to hypoxia is sufficient to achieve hypoxic acclimation of the entire root; particularly relevant in this respect is that, of the entire root apex, the transition zone cells show the highest demand for oxygen and also emit the largest amount of nitric oxide (NO). Local root apex-specific oxygen deprivation dramatically inhibits the oxygen influx peak in the transition zone and simultaneously stimulates a local increase in NO emission. The hypoxia-induced efflux of NO is strictly associated with the transition zone and is essential for hypoxic acclimation of the entire root.
European journal of cell biology, 1993
Depolymerization of microtubules in metabolically inactive quiescent center (QC) cells of maize r... more Depolymerization of microtubules in metabolically inactive quiescent center (QC) cells of maize root apices by means of three different antimicrotubular treatments (colchicine, oryzalin and low temperature) elicited very similar responses in their nuclei. Conspicuous nuclear enlargement was closely associated with chromatin decondensation and accelerated traverse of their cell cycle. This latter finding was inferred not only from cytophotometry which showed an increased proportion of S and G2 nuclei in this group of cells, but also from autoradiography which confirmed the greater proportion of nuclei engaged in the S phase of the cell cycle. Activation of the QC cells with various antimicrotubular agents may be a reflection of a dependency of nuclear cell cycle events on the turnover of cytoplasmic microtubules during interphase. The nuclear size, nuclear chromatin structure, as well as cell cycle progression, seem to be regulated by the dynamic nature of the microtubular cytoskeleton.
Pollen Tube: Cellular and Molecular Perspective, 2006
... was recently augmented by the finding that PA added to Arabidop-sis cell suspension cultures ... more ... was recently augmented by the finding that PA added to Arabidop-sis cell suspension cultures as well as to poppy pollen leads to a significant increase in F-actin levels, a process mediated by the heterodimeric capping protein from Arabidopsis (AtCP; Chris Staiger, pers. ...
Cell-Cell Channels, 2006
ABSTRACT I ntercellular communication is a major requirement for the development and maintainance... more ABSTRACT I ntercellular communication is a major requirement for the development and maintainance of multicellular organisms. Diverse mechanisms for the exchange of signals between cells during evolution have been established. These mechanisms include intercellular membrane channels between plant cells, called plasmodesmata, and proteinaceous channels of animal cells, called gap junctions. Recently, highly sensitive nanotubular structures have been described which are formed de novo between animal cells resulting in the formation of complex cellular networks. These membrane channels mediate membrane continuity between connected cells and are referred to as tunneling nanotubes (TNTs). They have been shown to facilitate the intercellular transfer of organelles as well as, on a limited scale, of membrane components and cytoplasmic molecules. It has been proposed that TNTs represent a novel and general biological principle of cell interaction based on membrane continuity and the intercellular exchange of organelles. It is increasingly apparent that TNTs and TNT-related structures fulfill important functions in the physiological processes of multicellular organisms.
Actin: A Dynamic Framework for Multiple Plant Cell Functions, 2000
Actin filaments are visualised by means of indirect immunofluorescence in plant tissues that were... more Actin filaments are visualised by means of indirect immunofluorescence in plant tissues that were fixed in formaldehyde, embedded in low-melting polyester wax and sectioned on a microtome. The technique described here avoids usage of detergents and organic solvents and is also compatible with immunolocalization of many other antigens.
2,3-Butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) is a general inhibitor of myosin ATPases of eukaryotic cells, an... more 2,3-Butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) is a general inhibitor of myosin ATPases of eukaryotic cells, and its effects on animal and yeast cells are well described. Using immunofluorescence and electron microscopy, we have analyzed the impacts of BDM on distributions of plant myosins, actin filaments (AFs), microtubules (MTs), and cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) elements in various cell types of maize root apices. Treatment of growing maize roots with BDM altered the typical distribution patterns of unconventional plant myosin VIII and of putative maize homologue(s) of myosin II. This pharmacological agent also induced a broad range of impacts on AFs and on cortical ER elements associated with plasmodesmata and pit fields. BDM-mediated effects on the actomyosin cytoskeleton were especially pronounced in cells of the root transition zone. Additionally, BDM elicited distinct reactions in the MT cytoskeleton; endoplasmic MTs vanished in all cells of the transition zone and cortical MTs ass...
Actin: A Dynamic Framework for Multiple Plant Cell Functions, 2000
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can be observed in living plant cells by fluorescence and video mi... more The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can be observed in living plant cells by fluorescence and video microscopy. Both its distribution and its dynamic properties seem largely to depend on actin and myosin. Actin filaments (AFs) provide a framework for the spacing of the cortical, lace-like ER elements and of the ER strands. Moreover, AFs are held responsible for the extension of ER tubules and lamellae as well as for their motility. Synchronized movements of ER and other organelles of plant cells seem to depend on co-localizations of ER and AFs. We summarize the growing body of evidence that the motility of plant ER is based preferentially on the actin cytoskeleton.
Plant signaling & behavior, 2008
The plant hormone auxin is secreted in root apices via phospholipase Dzeta2 (PLDzeta2) activity w... more The plant hormone auxin is secreted in root apices via phospholipase Dzeta2 (PLDzeta2) activity which produces specific population of phosphatidic acid that stimulates secretion of vesicles enriched with auxin. These vesicles were reported to be localized at plant synapses which are active in auxin secretion, especially at the transition zone of the root apex. There are several implications of this vesicular secretion of auxin. In root apices, auxin emerges as plant neurotransmitter-like signal molecule which coordinates activities of adjacent cells via electric and chemical signaling. Putative quantal release of auxin after electrical stimulation, if confirmed, would be part of neuronal communication between plant cells. As auxin transport across plant synapses is tightly linked with integrated sensory perception of environment, especially of omnipresent gravity and light, this process is proposed to mediate the plant perception of environment. These neuronal features allow sessile...
Plant and Cell Physiology, 2012
Roots are very sensitive to hypoxia and adapt effectively to a reduced availability of oxygen in ... more Roots are very sensitive to hypoxia and adapt effectively to a reduced availability of oxygen in the soil. However, the site of the root where oxygen availability is sensed and how roots acclimate to hypoxia remain unclear. In this study, we found that the root apex transition zone plays central roles in both sensing and adapting to root hypoxia. The exposure of cells of the root apex to hypoxia is sufficient to achieve hypoxic acclimation of the entire root; particularly relevant in this respect is that, of the entire root apex, the transition zone cells show the highest demand for oxygen and also emit the largest amount of nitric oxide (NO). Local root apex-specific oxygen deprivation dramatically inhibits the oxygen influx peak in the transition zone and simultaneously stimulates a local increase in NO emission. The hypoxia-induced efflux of NO is strictly associated with the transition zone and is essential for hypoxic acclimation of the entire root.
European journal of cell biology, 1993
Depolymerization of microtubules in metabolically inactive quiescent center (QC) cells of maize r... more Depolymerization of microtubules in metabolically inactive quiescent center (QC) cells of maize root apices by means of three different antimicrotubular treatments (colchicine, oryzalin and low temperature) elicited very similar responses in their nuclei. Conspicuous nuclear enlargement was closely associated with chromatin decondensation and accelerated traverse of their cell cycle. This latter finding was inferred not only from cytophotometry which showed an increased proportion of S and G2 nuclei in this group of cells, but also from autoradiography which confirmed the greater proportion of nuclei engaged in the S phase of the cell cycle. Activation of the QC cells with various antimicrotubular agents may be a reflection of a dependency of nuclear cell cycle events on the turnover of cytoplasmic microtubules during interphase. The nuclear size, nuclear chromatin structure, as well as cell cycle progression, seem to be regulated by the dynamic nature of the microtubular cytoskeleton.
Pollen Tube: Cellular and Molecular Perspective, 2006
... was recently augmented by the finding that PA added to Arabidop-sis cell suspension cultures ... more ... was recently augmented by the finding that PA added to Arabidop-sis cell suspension cultures as well as to poppy pollen leads to a significant increase in F-actin levels, a process mediated by the heterodimeric capping protein from Arabidopsis (AtCP; Chris Staiger, pers. ...
Cell-Cell Channels, 2006
ABSTRACT I ntercellular communication is a major requirement for the development and maintainance... more ABSTRACT I ntercellular communication is a major requirement for the development and maintainance of multicellular organisms. Diverse mechanisms for the exchange of signals between cells during evolution have been established. These mechanisms include intercellular membrane channels between plant cells, called plasmodesmata, and proteinaceous channels of animal cells, called gap junctions. Recently, highly sensitive nanotubular structures have been described which are formed de novo between animal cells resulting in the formation of complex cellular networks. These membrane channels mediate membrane continuity between connected cells and are referred to as tunneling nanotubes (TNTs). They have been shown to facilitate the intercellular transfer of organelles as well as, on a limited scale, of membrane components and cytoplasmic molecules. It has been proposed that TNTs represent a novel and general biological principle of cell interaction based on membrane continuity and the intercellular exchange of organelles. It is increasingly apparent that TNTs and TNT-related structures fulfill important functions in the physiological processes of multicellular organisms.
Actin: A Dynamic Framework for Multiple Plant Cell Functions, 2000
Actin filaments are visualised by means of indirect immunofluorescence in plant tissues that were... more Actin filaments are visualised by means of indirect immunofluorescence in plant tissues that were fixed in formaldehyde, embedded in low-melting polyester wax and sectioned on a microtome. The technique described here avoids usage of detergents and organic solvents and is also compatible with immunolocalization of many other antigens.