ATG8ylation of vacuolar membrane protects plants against cell wall damage
Vacuoles are essential for cellular metabolism and growth and the maintenance of internal turgor pressure. They sequester lytic enzymes, ions and secondary metabolites that, if leaked into the cytosol, could lead to cell death. Despite their pivotal roles, quality control pathways that safeguard vacuolar integrity have remained elusive in plants. Here we describe a conserved vacuolar quality control pathway that is activated upon cell wall damage in a turgor-pressure-dependent manner. Cell wall perturbations induce a distinct modification-ATG8ylation-on the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) that is regulated by the V-ATPase and ATG8 conjugation machinery. Genetic disruption of tonoplast ATG8ylation impairs vacuolar integrity, leading to cell death. Together, our findings reveal a homeostatic pathway that preserves vacuolar integrity upon cell wall damage.
Authors
- Núria S. Coll (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8889-0399)
- Elena A. Minina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2619-1859)
- Andreas Bachmair (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7731-1841)
- Joris Sprakel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6532-4514)
- Nenad Grujic (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1634-1507)
- Marc Somssich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5092-6168)
- Yasin Dagdas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9502-355X)
- Jose Julian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3078-0971)
- Christian Dank (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7440-4153)
- Laia Armengot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3790-9838)
- Maarten Besten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5823-2320)
- Barbara Korbei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0439-0435)
- Marion Clavel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1322-7362)
- Roksolana Kobylinska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3998-852X)
- Juan Carlos De la Concepción (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7642-8375)
- Tonni Grube Andersen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8905-0850)
- Ingo Polivka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9021-6048)
- Alessia Del Chiaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1341-5195)
- Héloïse Duvergé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2575-872X)
- Peng Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6633-0967)
Institutions
- University of Vienna (AT)
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES)
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (AT)
- Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- Max Perutz Labs (AT)
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE)
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (DE)
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químicas y Ambientales de Barcelona (ES)
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (DE)
- Vienna Biocenter (AT)
- Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (ES)
- Medical University of Vienna (AT)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
- BOKU University (AT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Plants
- Published
- 2025-02-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-01907-z
- Citations
- 12
- Primary Topic
- Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.67