Mitochondrial behaviour in the early stages of ROS stress leading to cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are involved in triggering cell death. To visualize mitochondrial behaviour under ROS stress, transgenic arabidopsis plants possessing mitochondrial-targeted GFP (S65T) were studied. METHODS: Arabidopsis leaves were treated with ROS and ROS-inducing chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, paraquat and menadione. Microscopic observations were carried out using a confocal laser scanning microscope system, and electrolyte leakage was also monitored. KEY RESULTS: After treatment, mitochondria showed morphological changes from a bacillus-like to a round shape. The size of mitochondria treated with H(2)O(2) decreased by half compared with controls. Concurrently, cytoplasmic streaming was blocked and mitochondria eventually swelled. Treatment of leaves with butanedione monoxime, an inhibitor of myosin ATPase, resulted in similar behaviour of mitochondria to that under ROS stress. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that morphological changes of mitochondria and cessation of cytoplasmic streaming may interact, and this phenomenon is one of the features of ROS stress-induced cell death.