Stromule

A stromule is a microscopic structure found in plant cells. Stromules (stroma-filled tubules) are highly dynamic structures extending from the surface of all plastid types, including proplastids, chloroplasts, etioplasts, leucoplasts, amyloplasts, and chromoplasts. Protrusions from and interconnections between plastids were observed in 1888 (Gottlieb Haberlandt) and 1908 (Gustav Senn) and have been described sporadically in the literature since then. Stromules were recently rediscovered in 1997 and have since been reported to exist in a number of angiosperm species including Arabidopsis thaliana, wheat, rice and tomato, but their role is not yet fully understood.

This highly dynamic nature is caused by the close relationship between plastid stromules and actin microfilaments, which are anchored to the stromule extensions, either in a longitudinal fashion to pull from the stromule and guide the plastid in a given direction or in a hinge fashion allowing the plastid to rest anchored in a given place. The actin microfilaments also define the stromule shape through their interactions. This dynamic random walk-like movement is probably caused by Myosin XI proteins as a recent work found.

Other organelles are also associated to stromules, as , which have been observed associated and sliding over stromule tubes. Plastids and need to be spatially close as some metabolic pathways like photorespiration require the association of both organelles to recycle glycolate and detoxify the ammonium produced during photorespiration.

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