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J. Cell Biol.,
Volume 145, Number 2, April 19, 1999 317-330


* Laboratory of Plant Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York 10021-6399; Pollen tube cells elongate based on actin-
dependent targeted secretion at the tip. Rho family
small GTPases have been implicated in the regulation
of related processes in animal and yeast cells. We have
functionally characterized Rac type Rho family proteins that are expressed in growing pollen tubes. Expression of dominant negative Rac inhibited pollen
tube elongation, whereas expression of constitutive active Rac induced depolarized growth. Pollen tube Rac
was found to accumulate at the tip plasma membrane
and to physically associate with a phosphatidylinositol
monophosphate kinase (PtdIns P-K) activity. Phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate (PtdIns 4, 5-P2), the
product of PtdIns P-Ks, showed a similar intracellular
localization as Rac. Expression of the pleckstrin homology (PH)-domain of phospholipase C (PLC)-
Laboratory of Plant Cell Biology,
Institute of Molecular Agrobiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604; § Division of Signal Transduction, Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02115; and
Department of Cell Biology and ¶ Department of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
1, which
binds specifically to PtdIns 4, 5-P2, inhibited pollen tube
elongation. These results indicate that Rac and PtdIns
4, 5-P2 act in a common pathway to control polar pollen
tube growth and provide direct evidence for a function
of PtdIns 4, 5-P2 compartmentalization in the regulation of this process.
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