Highlights of the mini‐symposium on extracellular vesicles in inter‐organismal communication, held in Munich, Germany, August 2018

Abstract

All living organisms secrete molecules for intercellular communication. Recent research has revealed that extracellular vesicles (EVs) play an important role in inter-organismal cell-to-cell communication by transporting diverse messenger molecules, including RNA, DNA, lipids and proteins. These discoveries have raised fundamental questions regarding EV biology. How are EVs biosynthesized and loaded with messenger/cargo molecules? How are EVs secreted into the extracellular matrix? What are the EV uptake mechanisms of recipient cells? As EVs are produced by all kind of organisms, from unicellular bacteria and protists, filamentous fungi and oomycetes, to complex multicellular life forms such as plants and animals, basic research in diverse model systems is urgently needed to shed light on the multifaceted biology of EVs and their role in inter-organismal communications. To help catalyse progress in this emerging field, a minisymposium was held in Munich, Germany in August 2018. This report highlights recent progress and major questions being pursued across a very diverse group of model systems, all united by the question of how EVs contribute to inter-organismal communication.

Biophysical and proteomic analyses suggest functions ofPseudomonas syringaepvtomatoDC3000 extracellular vesicles in bacterial growth during plant infection

“…EVs are cytosol-containing membrane “nano” spheres that provide selection, storage and protection against degradation of enclosed cargoes in a highly dynamic and environmental cue-responsive manner (Bielska et al , 2019, Rybak & Robatzek, 2019, Schwechheimer & Kuehn, 2015). Gram-negative bacteria actively form EVs by budding and shedding of the outer membrane, producing so-called outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) (Raposo & Stoorvogel, 2013, Roier et al , 2016).…”

Multilobed Magnetic Liposomes Enable Remotely Controlled Collection, Transport, and Delivery of Membrane-Soluble Cargos to Vesicles and Cells

“…This unique feature of MMLs raises several interesting prospects of their further application. Besides theranostics and drug delivery, MMLs might act as magnetically controlled artificial extracellular vesicles (EVs) and serve as an enabling tool in the fascinating research field of cell-to-cell signaling by exosomes. , The ability of MMLs to be driven magnetically between several locations where they can exchange membrane-bound molecular cargos with vesicular structures of both artificial and biological origins could be particularly attractive.…”

Algal Cells-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: A Review With Special Emphasis on Their Antimicrobial Effects

“…Plant-derived EVs because of their biological characteristics got more attention in recent years, many studies emphasize their role in the immune response against invading pathogens ( Rybak and Robatzek, 2019 ; Kolonics et al, 2020 ). Actually, involving EVs in pathogenesis is two-sided, and some pathogens like bacteria, fungi, and parasites also depend on EVs cargo to exploit their host ( Kuipers et al, 2018 ; Liu et al, 2018 ; Bielska et al, 2019 ; Ofir-Birin and Regev-Rudzki, 2019 ). Therefore, it is accepted that Evs have a key role in plant-pathogen interactions and many studies have been proved it ( Figure 1 ; Boevink, 2017 ; Hansen and Nielsen, 2017 ; Rutter and Innes, 2018 ).…”