Balancing the pressure: how plant cells protect their vacuoles

Water-filled vacuoles provide the inner pressure plant cells need for structural support. However, damage to the plant’s cell wall risks vacuole rupture and cell death. The Dagdas group discovered a novel quality control mechanism that protects the vacuole’s integrity upon cell wall damage. The study was published on February 7th in Nature Plants.

Confocal micrograph of root cells in Arabidopsis thaliana highlighting the re-localization of GFP-ATG8 to the tonoplast upon cell wall damage. ©José Julian/GMI