A Plasma Membrane-Anchored Fluorescent Protein Fusion Illuminates Sieve Element Plasma Membranes in Arabidopsis and Tobacco

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Abstract
Rapid acquisition of quantitative anatomical data from the sieve tubes of angiosperm phloem has been confounded by their small size, their distance from organ surfaces, and the time-consuming nature of traditional methods, such as transmission electron microscopy. To improve access to these cells, for which good anatomical data are critical, a monomeric yellow fluorescent protein (mCitrine) was N-terminally fused to a small (approximately 6 kD) membrane protein (AtRCI2A) and stably expressed in Arabidopsis thaliana (Columbia-0 ecotype) and Nicotiana tabacum ('Samsun') under the control of a companion cell-specific promoter (AtSUC2p). The construct, called by its abbreviation SUmCR, yielded stable sieve element (SE) plasma membrane fluorescence labeling, even after plastic (methacrylate) embedding. In conjunction with wide-field fluorescence measurements of sieve pore number and position using aniline blue-stained callose, mCitrine-labeled material was used to calculate rough estimates of sieve tube-specific conductivity for both species. The SUmCR construct also revealed a hitherto unknown expression domain of the AtSUC2 Suc-H(+) symporter in the epidermis of the cell division zone of developing root tips. The success of this construct in targeting plasma membrane-anchored fluorescent proteins to SEs could be attributable to the small size of AtRCI2A or to the presence of other signals innate to AtRCI2A that permit the protein to be trafficked to SEs. The construct provides a hitherto unique entrée into companion cell-to-SE protein targeting, as well as a new tool for studying whole-plant phloem anatomy and architecture.