pmc logo imageJournal ListSearchpmc logo image
Logo of plntphysJournal URL: redirect3.cgi?&&auth=0r3ZMGUEA_ujFmNDifvTf41Y-RMTBOx8z163ccAmY&reftype=publisher&article-id=2330317&issue-id=164620&journal-id=69&FROM=Article|Banner&TO=Publisher|Other|N%2FA&rendering-type=normal&&http://www.plantphysiol.org
Plant Physiol. 2008 May; 147(1): 92–100.
doi: 10.1104/pp.108.118992.
PMCID: PMC2330317
Arabidopsis Sucrose Transporter AtSUC1 Is Important for Pollen Germination and Sucrose-Induced Anthocyanin Accumulation1[OA]
Alicia B. Sivitz,2 Anke Reinders, and John M. Ward*
Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108
*Corresponding author; e-mail jward/at/tc.umn.edu.
2Present address: Department of Biology, University of Washington, 544 Hitchcock Hall, Seattle, WA 98195–1800.
Received March 11, 2008; Accepted March 17, 2008.
Abstract
The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) sucrose transporter AtSUC1 (At1g71880) is highly expressed in pollen; however, its function has remained unknown. Here, we show that suc1 mutant pollen is defective in vivo, as evidenced by segregation distortion, and also has low rates of germination in vitro. AtSUC1-green fluorescent protein was localized to the plasma membrane in pollen tubes. AtSUC1 is also expressed in roots and external application of sucrose increased AtSUC1 expression in roots. AtSUC1 is important for sucrose-dependent signaling leading to anthocyanin accumulation in seedlings. suc1 mutants accumulated less anthocyanins in response to exogenous sucrose or maltose and microarray analysis revealed reduced expression of many genes important for anthocyanin biosynthesis. The results indicate that AtSUC1 is important for sugar signaling in vegetative tissue and for normal male gametophyte function.