Mitochondrial pathway of programmed cell death in Paeonia lactiflora pollen cryopreservation

Wenjie Ma; Mengting Zhu; Yingling Wan; Hui Cai; Yue Sun; Pengcheng Jiao; Yan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112107

Mitochondrial pathway of programmed cell death in Paeonia lactiflora pollen cryopreservation

Plant Sci. 2024 Apr 27:345:112107. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112107. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Wenjie Ma¹, Mengting Zhu¹, Yingling Wan¹, Hui Cai¹, Yue Sun², Pengcheng Jiao³, Yan Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, Beijing 100083, China; Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Beijing 100083, China; National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing 100083, China.
² Cell Biology Facility, Center of Biomedical Analysis, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100083, China.
³ Core Facility, Center of Biomedical Analysis, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100083, China.
⁴ School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Ornamental Plants Germplasm Innovation & Molecular Breeding, Beijing 100083, China; Beijing Laboratory of Urban and Rural Ecological Environment, Beijing 100083, China; National Engineering Research Center for Floriculture, Beijing 100083, China. Electronic address: liu_yan@bjfu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38685455
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2024.112107

Abstract

Programmed cell death (PCD) is an important factor to reduces the viability of plant germplasm after cryopreservation. However, the pathways by which PCD occurs is not fully understood. To investigate whether there is a mitochondrial pathway for pollen PCD after cryopreservation, the pollen of Paeonia lactiflora two cultivars with different PCD levels after cryopreservation was used as test material and the changes of mitochondrial calcium ions (Ca²⁺), structure, function and their relationship with PCD were compared. The results showed that compared with fresh pollen, the PCD of 'Feng Huang Nie Pan' was significantly reduced after cryopreservation. Their mitochondrial Ca²⁺ content decreased by 74.27%, mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) opening reduced by 25.41%, mitochondrial membrane potential slightly decreased by 5.02%, cardiolipin oxidation decreased by 65.31%, and oxygen consumption remained stable, with a slightly ATP production increase. On the contrary, compared with fresh pollen, 'Zi Feng Chao Yang' showed severe PCD after cryopreservation. The decline in mitochondrial Ca²⁺-ATPase activity led to an accumulation of excessive Ca²⁺ within mitochondria, triggering widespread opening of MPTP, significantly affecting mitochondrial respiration and energy synthesis. These results suggest the mitochondrial pathway of PCD exists in pollen cryopreservation.

Keywords: Cryopreservation; Mitochondria; Pollen viability; Programmed cell death.