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RESEARCH PRODUCT

The Biogenesis of Vacuoles: Insights from Microscopy

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Publisher Summary Vacuoles of plant cells were discovered with the early light microscope and, as meant by the etymology of the word, were subsequently defined as the cell space empty of cytoplasmic matter. As usual in experimental science, methodological and instrumental progress has delineated differently the present definitions of vacuoles, which largely depend on the tools and concepts used for their study. This chapter discusses the biogenesis of vacuoles. Biochemistry and physiology of the vacuole have been made possible by the isolation of intact vacuoles. A specific, although yet incomplete, set of soluble and membrane proteins with unique properties have been specifically ascribed to the vacuole. Molecular tools allow important questions to be addressed regarding the transport, targeting, and assembly of the vacuolar components in plants. All results from recent plant cell studies support the view that the basic mechanisms that specifically organize the endomembrane system of eukaryotes are highly conserved. Recent structural insights into the vesicular traffic between compartments of the endomembrane system and the identification of specific markers make it possible to begin to draw a number of preliminary conclusions on the intracellular pathways leading to the vacuole.