Red Commissar
24th September 2013, 00:29
Probably not too interesting to some, but personally it's cool to me in biology that after so many decades of a fairly established cell system, we are still finding some new features...
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/2013/09/20/tannosomes-and-the-trickle-around-effect/
Last week, when French researchers unveiled a newly discovered plant organelle related to wine and tea, I waited for frenetic coverage. And waited. Only a few obscure wine websites covered the news.
When I contacted the study co-author, Jean-Marc Brillouet of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), he immediately put me in touch with another team member who could speak with me on short notice (Brillouets schedule was booked).
It was the last frontier in plant biology, co-author Charles Romieu, also of INRA, told me excitedly over the phone.
After untold hours in the lab experimenting with different transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging methods, the team found a new organelle inside the plant cell: the tannosome. Its responsible for churning out tannins, the naturally occurring molecules belonging to the polyphenols class of organic chemicals. If youve ever sipped wine, tasted tea, or paddled around in the tannic acid waters of the Florida Everglades, then you know what tannins are: bitter compounds. These important molecules are found in tree bark, vascular plant leaves and not-yet-ripe fruit. Tannins are natures way of saying, Hey, back off to would-be predators. They also offer UV protection.
We were very happy because nobody knew exactly where the tannin occurred. It was really a mystery, Romieu said.
Before the discovery of this separate organelle, at least one previous study hinted that tannins were perhaps in the tonoplast.
But it turns out tannins have their own organelle factory. The tannosome helps cells synthesize highly toxic and insoluble compounds.
People have been trying to figure this out since the 1960s, said Ian Burbulis, a researcher in biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Virginias School of Medicine. His voice, too, was edged with enthusiasm.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/2013/09/20/tannosomes-and-the-trickle-around-effect/
Last week, when French researchers unveiled a newly discovered plant organelle related to wine and tea, I waited for frenetic coverage. And waited. Only a few obscure wine websites covered the news.
When I contacted the study co-author, Jean-Marc Brillouet of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), he immediately put me in touch with another team member who could speak with me on short notice (Brillouets schedule was booked).
It was the last frontier in plant biology, co-author Charles Romieu, also of INRA, told me excitedly over the phone.
After untold hours in the lab experimenting with different transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging methods, the team found a new organelle inside the plant cell: the tannosome. Its responsible for churning out tannins, the naturally occurring molecules belonging to the polyphenols class of organic chemicals. If youve ever sipped wine, tasted tea, or paddled around in the tannic acid waters of the Florida Everglades, then you know what tannins are: bitter compounds. These important molecules are found in tree bark, vascular plant leaves and not-yet-ripe fruit. Tannins are natures way of saying, Hey, back off to would-be predators. They also offer UV protection.
We were very happy because nobody knew exactly where the tannin occurred. It was really a mystery, Romieu said.
Before the discovery of this separate organelle, at least one previous study hinted that tannins were perhaps in the tonoplast.
But it turns out tannins have their own organelle factory. The tannosome helps cells synthesize highly toxic and insoluble compounds.
People have been trying to figure this out since the 1960s, said Ian Burbulis, a researcher in biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Virginias School of Medicine. His voice, too, was edged with enthusiasm.