Abstract
Vacuoles are organelles in plant cells that play pivotal roles in growth and developmental regulation. The main functions of vacuoles include maintaining cell acidity and turgor pressure, regulating the storage and transport of substances, controlling the transport and localization of key proteins through the endocytic and lysosomal-vacuolar transport pathways, and responding to biotic and abiotic stresses. Further, proteins localized either in the tonoplast (vacuolar membrane) or inside the vacuole lumen are critical for fruit quality. In this review, we summarize and discuss some of the emerging functions and regulatory mechanisms associated with plant vacuoles, including vacuole biogenesis, vacuole functions in plant growth and development, fruit quality, and plant-microbe interaction, as well as some innovative research technology that has driven advances in the field. Together, the functions of plant vacuoles are important for plant growth and fruit quality. The investigation of vacuole functions in plants is of great scientific significance and has potential applications in agriculture.
Highlights
The vacuoles of plant cells are multifunctional organelles that display strong plasticity during plant growth and development
Vacuole functions are tightly connected with vacuolar proteins, many of which are embedded in the lipid monolayer vacuolar membrane, referred to as the tonoplast
This review summarizes recent advances in research on vacuole biogenesis, technical methods, and the functions of the vacuole in plant growth and fruit quality
Summary
The vacuoles of plant cells are multifunctional organelles that display strong plasticity during plant growth and development. Recent studies have shed light on the role of the vacuole in plant embryo development and patterning, through regulating cell division in the embryo (Jiang et al, 2019; (2021) 1:4 With the rapid development of fluorescence microscopy, technologies involving single-molecule fluorescence imaging in living cells have gradually been applied to research into plant membrane systems and key proteins; relevant approaches include variable-angle total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (VA-TIRFM) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy technologies, among others (Lv et al, 2017; Tsuganezawa et al, 2013; Wang et al, 2015a).
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