vacuole-biology
Vacuole biology is the study of the large, membrane-bound organelles that occupy much of the volume of plant cells and carry out diverse functions including storage, waste sequestration, and turgor regulation. In plants, vacuoles are uniquely central to cell expansion, pH homeostasis, and the accumulation of pigments, toxins, and secondary metabolites that influence defense and development. Understanding vacuole dynamics and transport mechanisms is essential for research into stress tolerance, nutrient efficiency, and the engineering of plant metabolism.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-01
A plant cell biologist at The Chinese University of Hong Kong reflects on 25 years of research into how plant cells manage internal compartments—especially vacuoles—and how those compartments communicate, form, and recycle material. The work uses cutting-edge microscopy to reveal nanoscale structures inside living plant cells.
Over 25 years, the lab trained 40 PhD students, 18 MPhil students, and 34 postdoctoral researchers, building significant institutional capacity in plant cell biology.
The research group established advanced electron microscopy and live-cell imaging shared platforms since 2015, enabling nanometer-resolution views of plant membrane structures.
Whole-cell electron tomography and Cryo-ET/FIB technologies were applied to reveal near-native 3D structures of transport vesicles, extracellular vesicles, and vacuoles in plants.