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Peer-reviewedCC BYNature Plants

In situ architecture of plasmodesmata in Physcomitrium patens resolved by cryo-electron tomography

  • Marcel Dickmanns1,2
  • Matthias Pöge3,4
  • Peng Xu3
  • Sven Gombos5
  • Zoe Kathleen Barr6
  • Manuel Miras7,8
  • Jürgen M. Plitzko9
  • Rüdiger GW Simon10,6
  • Waltraud X. Schulze5
  • Wolf Bernd Frommer11,12,13
  • Wolfgang Baumeister14
14 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany. [email protected]
  2. 2Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Molecular Physiology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany. [email protected]
  3. 3Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
  4. 4Electron Microscopy Facility, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
  5. 5Department of Plant Systems Biology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
  6. 6Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute of Developmental Genetics, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
  7. 7Department of Stress Biology and Plant Pathology, CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia, Spain
  8. 8Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Molecular Physiology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany
  9. 9Research Group CryoEM Technology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
  10. 10Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany
  11. 11Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf, Germany. [email protected]
  12. 12Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Molecular Physiology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany. [email protected]
  13. 13Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. [email protected]
  14. 14Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany. [email protected]
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Abstract

Plasmodesmata are nanoscopic channels that traverse plant cell walls, enabling direct intercellular exchange through membrane and cytosolic continuity. Although numerous plasmodesmal components have been identified, their molecular organization remains poorly defined. Here we used cryo-electron tomography to resolve the in situ architecture of plasmodesmata in Physcomitrium patens across tissues and physiological states. We show how callose-related cell wall remodelling shapes pore architecture to modulate permeability, including a previously undescribed fully sealed state, and resolve helical protein assemblies scaffolding the central, endoplasmic-reticulum-derived desmotubule. Candidate screening via proteomics and structure prediction indicates Multiple C2 Domain and Transmembrane Proteins (MCTPs) as key constituents of these assemblies. In this model, MCTPs tether the desmotubule to the plasma membrane, while their disordered linker regions with polyampholyte charge patterning may populate the cytosolic sleeve. These findings define core architectural features of plasmodesmata and provide a structural framework for understanding how membrane, protein and cell wall components coordinate intercellular connectivity in plants.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{dickmanns2026situ,
  title = {{In situ architecture of plasmodesmata in Physcomitrium patens resolved by cryo-electron tomography}},
  author = {Marcel Dickmanns and Matthias Pöge and Peng Xu and Sven Gombos and Zoe Kathleen Barr and Manuel Miras and Jürgen M. Plitzko and Rüdiger GW Simon and Waltraud X. Schulze and Wolf Bernd Frommer and Wolfgang Baumeister},
  journal = {Nature Plants},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  doi = {10.1038/s41477-026-02294-9},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-026-02294-9},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - In situ architecture of plasmodesmata in Physcomitrium patens resolved by cryo-electron tomography
AU  - Marcel Dickmanns
AU  - Matthias Pöge
AU  - Peng Xu
AU  - Sven Gombos
AU  - Zoe Kathleen Barr
AU  - Manuel Miras
AU  - Jürgen M. Plitzko
AU  - Rüdiger GW Simon
AU  - Waltraud X. Schulze
AU  - Wolf Bernd Frommer
AU  - Wolfgang Baumeister
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
JO  - Nature Plants
DO  - 10.1038/s41477-026-02294-9
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-026-02294-9
AB  - Plasmodesmata are nanoscopic channels that traverse plant cell walls, enabling direct intercellular exchange through membrane and cytosolic continuity. Although numerous plasmodesmal components have been identified, their molecular organization remains poorly defined. Here we used cryo-electron tomography to resolve the in situ architecture of plasmodesmata in Physcomitrium patens across tissues and physiological states. We show how callose-related cell wall remodelling shapes pore architecture to modulate permeability, including a previously undescribed fully sealed state, and resolve helical protein assemblies scaffolding the central, endoplasmic-reticulum-derived desmotubule. Candidate screening via proteomics and structure prediction indicates Multiple C2 Domain and Transmembrane Proteins (MCTPs) as key constituents of these assemblies. In this model, MCTPs tether the desmotubule to the plasma membrane, while their disordered linker regions with polyampholyte charge patterning may populate the cytosolic sleeve. These findings define core architectural features of plasmodesmata and provide a structural framework for understanding how membrane, protein and cell wall components coordinate intercellular connectivity in plants.
SN  - 2055-026X
SN  - 2055-0278
ER  -