Dual localization of the carboxy-terminal tail of GLR3.3 in sieve element-companion cell complex

Abstract

Glutamate receptor-like (GLR) 3.3 and 3.6 proteins are required for mediating wound-induced leaf-to-leaf electrical signaling. In the previous study, we found that the carboxy-terminal tail of GLR3.3 contains key residues that are indispensable for its action in electrical signaling. In the present work, we generated plants that expressed the truncated C-tail fraction of GLR3.3. To our expectation, the truncated C-tail itself was not functional in propagating leaf-to-leaf signals. However, we identified that the C-tail-mVENUS fusion proteins had dual localization patterns in sieve elements and companion cells. In companion cells, the fusion proteins overlapped largely with the nucleus. We speculated that a possible nuclear localization signal is present in the C-tail of GLR3.3, paralleling the C-tails of the ionotropic glutamate receptors in animal cells. Our further findings on the C-tail of GLR3.3 open up new possibilities for the regulatory roles of the C-tails to GLR proteins.

Keywords: companion cell; electrical signaling; glutamate receptor; sieve element; wound signaling.