Ultramicroscopy reveals that senescence induces in-situ and vacuolar degradation of plastoglobules in aging watermelon leaves

The dynamics of plastoglobules in chloroplasts in aging watermelon leaves were examined by means of transmission electron microscopy, with the aim to understand the intracellular sites for the degradation of plastoglobules in response to leaf senescence. Plastoglobules in chloroplasts in aging leaves with 40% loss of chlorophyll increased drastically in number and size in comparison with young and mature leaves. As senescence advanced, plastoglobules underwent degradation within chloroplasts, or were secreted outside chloroplasts. There were two distinct types of secretion. One type was that chloroplasts protruded to form plastoglobule-containing vesicles and, as the vesicles were detached from chloroplasts, plastoglobules were carried outside chloroplasts. The other type was that plastoglobules squeezed out through the chloroplast envelope into cytoplasm. Lipid droplets were present in the vacuole and underwent degradation therein. Lipid droplets in the vacuole shared similar ultramicroscopic appearance with plastoglobules in chloroplasts, indicating that plastoglobules were engulfed and degraded by the vacuole after they were secreted outside chloroplasts. These results suggested that senescence induces both in-situ and vacuolar degradation of plastoglobules in aging watermelon leaves.