Stromules: a characteristic cell-specific feature of plastid morphology.

Stromule formation is dependent upon plastid size, plastid differentiation status and the density of plastids within the cell.

Stromules are motile extensions of the plastid envelope membrane, whose roles are not fully understood. They are present on all plastid types but are more common and extensive on non-green plastids that are sparsely distributed within the cell. During tomato fruit ripening, chloroplasts in the mesocarp tissue differentiate into chromoplasts and undergo major shifts in morphology. In order to un...

Plastid tubules of higher plants are tissue-specific and developmentally regulated.

Green fluorescent stroma filled tubules (stromules) emanating from the plastid surface were observed in transgenic plants containing plastid-localized green fluorescent protein (GFP). These transgenic tobacco plants were further investigated by epifluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CSLM) to identify developmental and/or cell type specific differences in the abundance and appea...

Stromules: recent insights into a long neglected feature of plastid morphology and function.

GFP-labelled Rubisco and aspartate aminotransferase are present in plastid stromules and traffic between plastids.

Plastid stromules are membrane-bound protrusions of the plastid envelope that contain soluble stroma. Stromules are often found connecting plastids within a cell and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments have demonstrated that green fluorescent protein (GFP) can move between plastids via these connections. In this report, the ability of endogenous plastid proteins to tra...

Plastid stromule branching coincides with contiguous endoplasmic reticulum dynamics.

Stromules are stroma-filled tubules extending from plastids whose rapid extension toward or retraction from other plastids has suggested a role in interplastidic communication and exchange of metabolites. Several studies point to sporadic dilations, kinks, and branches occurring along stromule length but have not elucidated the underlying basis for these occurrences. Similarly, although specifi...