Abstract
Studied with the fluorochrome 3,3‐dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide [(DIOC6(3)], the dynamic system of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in epidermal cells of onion bulb scales consists of long, tubular strands moving together with organelles in the deeper cytoplasm, and of a less mobile network composed of tubular and lamellar elements at the cell periphery. Treatment with the sulfhydryl‐reagent N‐ethylmaleimide (NEM) inhibited organelle and ER movement, and caused the fusion of ER‐tubules into flat sheets. Fixed, long, tubular ER strands were formed by lowering the cytosolic pH of NEM‐treated cells. Both these observations indicate the involvement of myosin in the dynamics of organelles and ER. Using a monoclonal antibody against murine skeletal muscle myosin (known to cross‐react with plant myosin; Tang et al. 1989, J. Cell Sci. 92: 569–574), myosin was identified by immunofluorescence microscopy. Mapping the distribution of myosin, actin filaments, ER, and organelles in different phases of recovery after centrifugation of epidermal cells, co‐localization of myosin with ER and organelles but not with actin filaments was observed, supporting the hypothesis that a membrane bound motor protein exists in onion epidermal cells, which translocates organelles and the endoplasmic reticulum along actin filaments.
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