Myrosin cells in Capparales plants are idioblasts that accumulate thioglucoside glucohydrolase (TGG, also called myrosinase), which hydrolyzes glucosinolates to produce toxic compounds for repelling pests. Here, we show that AtVAM3 is involved in development of myrosin cells. It has been shown that yeast VAM3 is a Q(a)-SNARE that is involved in vesicle transport of vacuolar proteins and vacuolar assembly. We found that two Arabidopsis atvam3 alleles, atvam3-3 and atvam3-4/ssm, accumulate large amounts of TGG1 and TGG2 that are enzymatically active. An immunogold analysis revealed that TGGs were specifically localized in the vacuole of myrosin cells in atvam3 mutants. This result indicates that TGGs are normally transported to vacuoles in these mutants and that AtVAM3 is not essential for vacuolar transport of the proteins. We developed a staining method with Coomassie brilliant blue that detects myrosin cells in whole leaves by their high TGG content. This method showed that atvam3 leaves have a larger number of myrosin cells than do wild-type leaves. Myrosin cells were scattered along leaf veins in wild-type leaves, while they were abnormally distributed in atvam3 leaves. The mutants developed a network of myrosin cells throughout the leaves: myrosin cells were not only distributed continuously along leaf veins, but were also observed independent of leaf veins. The excess of myrosin cells in atvam3 mutants might be responsible for the abnormal abundance of TGGs and the reduction of elongation of inflorescence stems and leaves in these mutants. Our results suggest that AtVAM3 has a plant-specific function in development of myrosin cells.

The short stem and midrib (ssm) mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana show both semi-dwarf and wavy leaf phenotypes due to defects in the elongation of the stem internodes and leaves. Moreover, these abnormalities cannot be recovered by exogenous phytohormones. ssm was originally identified as a single recessive mutant of the ecotype Columbia (Col-0), but genetic crossing experiments have revealed that this mutant phenotype is restored by another gene that is functional in the ecotype Landsberg erecta (Ler) and not in Col-0. Map-based cloning of the gene that is defective in ssm mutants has uncovered a small deletion in the sixth intron of a gene encoding a syntaxin, VAM3/SYP22, which has been implicated in vesicle transport to the vacuole. This mutation appears to cause a peptide insertion in the deduced VAM3/SYP22 polypeptide sequence due to defective splicing of the shortened sixth intron. Significantly, when compared with the wild-type Ler genome, the wild-type Col-0 genome has a single base pair deletion causing a frameshift mutation in SYP23, a gene with the highest known homology to VAM3/SYP22. These findings suggest that VAM3/SYP22 and SYP23 have overlapping functions and that the vesicle transport mediated by these syntaxins is important for shoot morphogenesis.

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