βVPE is involved in tapetal degradation and pollen development by activating proprotease maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) is responsible for the maturation and activation of vacuolar proteins in plants. We found that βVPE was involved in tapetal degradation and pollen development by transforming proproteases into mature protease in Arabidopsis thaliana. βVPE was expressed specifically in the tapetum from stages 5 to 8 of anther development. The βVPE protein first appeared as a proenzyme and was transformed into the mature enzyme before stages 7–8. The recombinant βVPE protein self-cleaved and transformed into a 27 kDa mature protein at pH 5.2. The mature βVPE protein could induce the maturation of CEP1 in vitro. βvpe mutants exhibited delayed vacuolar degradation and decreased pollen fertility. The maturation of CEP1, RD19A, and RD19C was seriously inhibited in βvpe mutants. Our results indicate that βVPE is a crucial processing enzyme that directly participates in the maturation of cysteine proteases before vacuolar degradation, and is indirectly involved in pollen development and tapetal cell degradation.