Letter abstract
Nature Cell Biology 10, 1456 - 1462 (2008)
Published online: 9 November 2008 | doi:10.1038/ncb1805
An H+ P-ATPase on the tonoplast determines vacuolar pH and flower colour
Walter Verweij1,5, Cornelis Spelt1,5, Gian-Pietro Di Sansebastiano2, Joop Vermeer3, Lara Reale4, Francesco Ferranti4, Ronald Koes1 & Francesca Quattrocchio1
The regulation of pH in cellular compartments is crucial for intracellular trafficking of vesicles and proteins and the transport of small molecules, including hormones. In endomembrane compartments, pH is regulated by vacuolar H+-ATPase1 (V-ATPase), which, in plants, act together with H+-pyrophosphatases2 (PPase), whereas distinct P-type H+-ATPases in the cell membrane control the pH in the cytoplasm and energize the plasma membrane3. Flower colour mutants have proved useful in identifying genes controlling the pH of vacuoles where anthocyanin pigments accumulate4, 5. Here we show that PH5 of petunia encodes a P3A-ATPase proton pump that, unlike other P-type H+-ATPases, resides in the vacuolar membrane. Mutation of PH5 reduces vacuolar acidification in petals, resulting in a blue flower colour and abolishes the accumulation of proanthocyanindins (condensed tannins) in seeds. Expression of PH5 is directly activated by transcription regulators of the anthocyanin pathway, in conjunction with PH3 and PH4. Thus, flower coloration, a key-factor in plant reproduction, involves the coordinated activation of pigment synthesis and a specific pathway for vacuolar acidification.
- Institute for Molecular Cell Biology, Graduate School of Experimental Plant Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, de Boelelaan 1087, 1081HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Laboratorio di Botanica - Di.S.Te.B.A., Università di Lecce, Campus ECOTEKNE, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
- Centre for Advanced Microscopy, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 316, 1098SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Applied Biology, Universita' di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy.
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Francesca Quattrocchio1 e-mail: francesca.quattrocchio@falw.vu.nl
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