Abstract
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is involved in various biological pathways, such as autophagy and endocytosis. Because each of AtAtg6, AtVps34 and AtVps15 in the Arabidopsis PI3K complexes is required for pollen germination, physiological roles of PI3K complexes have not been fully understood in plants. Here we obtained atatg6 homozygous plants whose defects in pollen germination were rescued by pollen-specific overexpression of AtAtg6. Decreased PI3K activity in the resultant atatg6 plants was estimated by changes in subcellular localization of EYFP-2xFYVE. This mutant showed defects in autophagy and exhibited an early-senescence phenotype. Microarray analysis identified a variety of genes induced in the atatg6 . This mutant should serve as a model system to study physiological functions of PI3K complexes in plants.
