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Comparative ultrastructure of fruit plastids in three genetically diverse genotypes of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) during development

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Comparative ultrastructural developmental time-course analysis has identified discrete stages at which the fruit plastids undergo structural and consequently functional transitions to facilitate subsequent development-guided understanding of the complex plastid biology.

Abstract

Plastids are the defining organelle for a plant cell and are critical for myriad metabolic functions. The role of leaf plastid, chloroplast, is extensively documented; however, fruit plastids—chromoplasts—are poorly understood, especially in the context of the diverse metabolic processes operating in these diverse plant organs. Recently, in a comparative study of the predicted plastid-targeted proteomes across seven plant species, we reported that each plant species is predicted to harbor a unique set of plastid-targeted proteins. However, the temporal and developmental context of these processes remains unknown. In this study, an ultrastructural analysis approach was used to characterize fruit plastids in the epidermal and collenchymal cell layers at 11 developmental timepoints in three genotypes of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.): chlorophyll-predominant ‘Granny Smith’, carotenoid-predominant ‘Golden Delicious’, and anthocyanin-predominant ‘Top Red Delicious’. Plastids transitioned from a proplastid-like plastid to a chromoplast-like plastid in epidermis cells, while in the collenchyma cells, they transitioned from a chloroplast-like plastid to a chloro-chromo-amyloplast plastid. Plastids in the collenchyma cells of the three genotypes demonstrated a diverse array of structures and features. This study enabled the identification of discrete developmental stages during which specific functions are most likely being performed by the plastids as indicated by accumulation of plastoglobuli, starch granules, and other sub-organeller structures. Information regarding the metabolically active developmental stages is expected to facilitate biologically relevant omics studies to unravel the complex biochemistry of plastids in perennial non-model systems.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Deb Pehrson for assistance with sample procurement at Washington State University Tukey Orchard and Chris Davitt for assistance with sample fixation. This work was supported in part by WSU Startup and ARC Hatch Funds to AD. NCV acknowledges the McNair Fellowship program and RC acknowledges the WSU CAHNRS undergraduate research fellowship and Auvil Fellowship for undergraduate research experience. S.M.S. and R.C. acknowledge the support received from National Institutes of Health/National Institute of General Medical Sciences through an institutional training grant award T32-GM008336. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIGMS or NIH.

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  1. Scott M. Schaeffer

    Present address: Indigo Agriculture, 500 Rutherford Ave, Suite 201, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Scott M. Schaeffer, Ryan Christian, Nohely Castro-Velasquez, Brennan Hyden & Amit Dhingra

  2. Molecular Plant Science Graduate Program, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Scott M. Schaeffer, Ryan Christian & Amit Dhingra

  3. Franchesci Microscopy and Imaging Center, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Valerie Lynch-Holm

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Communicated by Prakash P. Kumar.

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Schaeffer, S.M., Christian, R., Castro-Velasquez, N. et al. Comparative ultrastructure of fruit plastids in three genetically diverse genotypes of apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) during development. Plant Cell Rep 36, 1627–1640 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-017-2179-z

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