Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells

Summary

Several commonly used methods are introduced here to study the membrane trafficking events of a plasma membrane receptor kinase. This manuscript describes detailed protocols including the plant material preparation, pharmacological treatment, and confocal imaging setup.

Abstract

In eukaryotic cells, membrane components, including proteins and lipids, are spatiotemporally transported to their destination within the endomembrane system. This includes the secretory transport of newly synthesized proteins to the cell surface or the outside of the cell, the endocytic transport of extracellular cargoes or plasma membrane components into the cell, and the recycling or shuttling transport of cargoes between the subcellular organelles, etc. Membrane trafficking events are crucial to the development, growth, and environmental adaptation of all eukaryotic cells and, thus, are under stringent regulation. Cell-surface receptor kinases, which perceive ligand signals from the extracellular space, undergo both secretory and endocytic transport. Commonly used approaches to study the membrane trafficking events using a plasma membrane-localized leucine-rich-repeat receptor kinase, ERL1, are described here. The approaches include plant material preparation, pharmacological treatment, and confocal imaging setup. To monitor the spatiotemporal regulation of ERL1, this study describes the co-localization analysis between ERL1 and a multi-vesicular body marker protein, RFP-Ara7, the time series analysis of these two proteins, and the z-stack analysis of ERL1-YFP treated with the membrane trafficking inhibitors brefeldin A and wortmannin.

Introduction

Membrane traffic is a conserved cellular process that distributes membrane components (also known as cargoes), including proteins, lipids, and other biological products, between different organelles within a eukaryotic cell or across the plasma membrane to and from the extracellular space¹. This process is facilitated by a collection of membranes and organelles named the endomembrane system, which consists of the nuclear membrane, the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, the vacuole/lysosomes, the plasma membrane, and multiple endosomes¹. The endomembrane system enables the modification, packaging, and transport o....

Protocol

1. Preparation of the solutions

1. Prepare seed sterilization solution by mixing 15 mL of bleach with 35 mL of distilled water and 50 µL of Triton X-100.
2. Prepare brefeldin A (BFA) solution by dissolving the BFA powder in ethanol to a final concentration of 10 mM (stock). Prepare wortmannin (Wm) solution by dissolving the Wm powder in DMSO to a final concentration of 10 mM (stock).

2. Sowing the seeds

1. Aliquot 10-50 see.......

Discussion

The endomembrane system separates the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell into different compartments, which enables the specialized biological function of these organelles. To deliver cargo proteins and macromolecules to their final destination at the right time, numerous vesicles are guided to shuttle between these organelles. Highly regulated membrane trafficking events play fundamental roles in the viability, development, and growth of cells. The mechanism regulating this crucial and complicated process is still poorly un.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
10 mL syringes	VWR	BD309695	Vacuum samples
Brefeldin A (BFA)	Sigma	B7651	membrane trafficking drug
Confocal Microscope	Leica	Lecia SP8 TCS with LAS-X software package	Imaging
Dissecting Forceps	VWR	82027-402	Genetic cross
Fiji	NIH	https://imagej.net/Fiji	Image processing
Leica LAS AF software	Leica	http://www.leica-microsystems.com	Image processing
transgenic seeds of ERL1-YFP			Qi, X. et al. The manifold actions of signaling peptides on subcellular dynamics of a receptor specify stomatal cell fate. Elife. 9, doi:10.7554/eLife.58097, (2020).
transgenic seeds of RFP-Ara7			Ebine, K. et al. A membrane trafficking pathway regulated by the plant-specific RAB GTPase ARA6. Nat Cell Biol. 13 (7), 853-859, doi:10.1038/ncb2270, (2011).
Wortmannin (Wm)	Sigma	W1628	membrane trafficking drug