Abstract
The Golgi apparatus plays an essential role in protein sorting and transport in eukaryotic cells. In animal and plant cells, the Golgi apparatus consists of several flattened membrane sacs called cisternae, which form a stack. In mammalian cells, Golgi stacks are centralized by microtubules and fuse together to form a huge single ribbon-like structure. In contrast, individual Golgi stacks are distributed widely in the cytoplasm and move along actin filaments in plant cells. The plant Golgi apparatus has been also known to keep its morphology and function throughout mitosis, suggesting that the plant Golgi apparatus proliferates in the late stages of mitosis. To examine the dynamics of the plant Golgi apparatus, we visualized Golgi stacks in plant cells by using GFP, mRFP and photoconvertible fluorescent protein, Dendra2. The observation by confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that individual Golgi apparatus communicated with each other. In this meeting, we will discuss the biogenesis of the plant Golgi apparatus during mitosis.
