In an attempt to dissect endocytosis in Nicotiana tabacum L. pollen tubes, two different probes – positively or negatively charged nanogold – were employed. The destiny of internalized plasma membrane domains, carrying negatively or positively charged residues, was followed at the ultrastructural level and revealed distinct endocytic pathways. Time-course experiments and electron microscopy showed internalization of subapical plasma-membrane domains that were mainly recycled to the secretory pathway through the Golgi apparatus and a second mainly degradative pathway involving plasma membrane retrieval at the tip. In vivo time-lapse experiments using FM4-64 combined with quantitative analysis confirmed the existence of distinct internalization regions. Ikarugamycin, an inhibitor of clathrin-dependent endocytosis, allowed us to further dissect the endocytic process: electron microscopy and time-lapse studies suggested that clathrin-dependent endocytosis occurs in the tip and subapical regions, because recycling of positively charged nanogold to the Golgi bodies and the consignment of negatively charged nanogold to vacuoles were affected. However, intact positively charged-nanogold transport to vacuoles supports the idea that an endocytic pathway that does not require clathrin is also present in pollen tubes.

Positively charged nanogold was used as a probe to trace the internalization of plasma membrane (PM) domains carrying negatively charged residues at an ultrastructural level. The probe revealed distinct endocytic pathways within tobacco protoplasts and allowed the morphology of the organelles involved in endocytosis to be characterized in great detail. Putative early endosomes with a tubulo-vesicular structure, similar to that observed in animal cells, are described and a new compartment, characterized by interconnected vesicles, was identified as a late endosome using the Arabidopsis anti-syntaxin family Syp-21 antibody. Endocytosis dissection using Brefeldin A (BFA), pulse chase, temperature- and energy-dependent experiments combined with quantitative analysis of nanogold particles in different compartments, suggested that recycling to the PM predominated with respect to degradation. Further experiments using ikarugamycin (IKA), an inhibitor of clathrin-dependent endocytosis, and negatively charged nanogold confirmed that distinct endocytic pathways coexist in tobacco protoplasts.

To understand mechanisms of regulation of dynein activity along and around the axoneme we further characterized the "dynein regulatory complex" (drc). The lack of some axonemal proteins, which together are referred to as drc, causes the suppression of flagellar paralysis of radial spoke and central pair mutants. The drc is also an adapter involved in the ATP-insensitive binding of I2 and I3 inner dynein arms to doublet microtubules. Evidence supporting these conclusions was obtained through analyses of five drc mutants: pf2, pf3, suppf3, suppf4, and suppf5. Axonemes from drc mutants lack part of I2 and I3 inner dynein arms as well as subsets of seven drc components (apparent molecular weight from 29,000 to 192,000). In the absence of ATP-Mg, dynein-depleted axonemes from the same mutants bind I2 and I3 inner arms at both ATP-sensitive and -insensitive sites. At ATP-insensitive sites, they bind I2 and I3 inner arms to an extent that depends on the drc defect. This evidence suggested to us that the drc forms one binding site for the I2 and I3 inner arms on the A part of doublet microtubules.