Arabidopsis thaliana calmodulin-like protein CML24 regulates pollen tube growth by modulating the actin cytoskeleton and controlling the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration

Cytosolic free calcium ([Ca2+](cyt)), which is essential during pollen germination and pollen tube growth, can be sensed by calmodulin-like proteins (CMLs). The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes over 50 CMLs, the physiological role(s) of most of which are unknown. Here we show that the gene AtCML24 acts as a regulator of pollen germination and pollen tube extension, since the pollen produced by loss-of-function mutants germinated less rapidly than that of wild-type (WT) plants, the rate of pollen tube extension was slower, and the final length of the pollen tube was shorter. The [Ca2+](cyt) within germinated pollen and extending pollen tubes produced by the cml24 mutant were higher than their equivalents in WT plants, and pollen tube extension was less sensitive to changes in external [K+] and [Ca2+]. The pollen and pollen tubes produced by cml24 mutants were characterized by a disorganized actin cytoskeleton and lowered sensitivity to the action of latrunculin B. The observations support an interaction between CML24 and [Ca2+](cyt) and an involvement of CML24 in actin organization, thereby affecting pollen germination and pollen tube elongation.