In yeast and animals, mitochondria-specific autophagy (mitophagy) cause fatal defects in fertilization and development. Proper removal of abnormal mitochondria is crucial to surviving under special developmental and stress conditions. In plants, however, function and biological significance of the selective mitochondrial degradation is poorly understood. In this seminar, I will talk about our recent approaches related to plant mitophagy in cells affected by specific heavy metals, along with an overview of organelle autophagy in plants. We captured the rapid and dynamic vacuolar degradation process of the heavy metal-accumulated mitochondria that labeled with fluorescent proteins. Secondly, the large scale of chloroplast-specific autophagy in Cd-treated Arabidopsis cells will be introduced from the same point of view. We are preparing to explore the unknown cargo receptor that triggers mitochondria/chloroplast-selective autophagy. The critical importance of the selective clearance of the abnormal mitochondria/chloroplasts will be discussed in the context of the sequestration and detoxification of heavy metals in plant cells.

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Contact: Stéphane Mari

Contacts IBIP :
Sabine Zimmermann
Alexandre Martinière
Florent Pantin
Chantal Baracco