Nanoscale and geometric influences on the microtubule cytoskeleton in plants: thinking inside and outside the box

• Published in: Protoplasma Vol. 249; no. Suppl 1; pp. 69 - 76
• Main Authors: Ambrose, Chris, Wasteneys, Geoffrey O
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer-Verlag 01-02-2012; Springer Vienna; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arabidopsis - growth & development; Arabidopsis - metabolism; Arabidopsis - ultrastructure; Arabidopsis thaliana; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Cell Wall - physiology; cell walls; Cells, Cultured; cortex; cytoskeleton; green fluorescent protein; Green Fluorescent Proteins - metabolism; image analysis; leaves; Life Sciences; Microtubule-Associated Proteins - metabolism; Microtubules - metabolism; Microtubules - ultrastructure; New Ideas in Cell Biology; Nicotiana - metabolism; Nicotiana - ultrastructure; Nicotiana tabacum; organelles; Plant Sciences; tobacco; xylem; Zoology; Root; CLASP; Mutant; Development; Cytoskeleton; Polarity; Leaf; Microtubule; MAP; Cell; Preprophase band
• ISSN: 0033-183X; 1615-6102
• DOI: 10.1007/s00709-011-0334-x

The dynamic microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton found in the cell cortex of plants drives cell expansion via cell wall modifications. In the last decade, live cell imaging studies employing green fluorescent protein have helped unravel the mechanisms behind how cells arrange cortical MTs into complex arrays and shape cell expansion. In this review, we explore the reverse scenario: how cell geometry and organelles influence and constrain the organization and behavior of cortical MTs. This newly emerging principle explains how cells perceive local nanoscale structural input from MT-organizing centers, such as the nucleus, endomembranes, and cell edges, and translate this into global cell-wide order via MT self-organization. Studies primarily using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco BY-2 suspension cultures have broadened our understanding of how cells form not only elegant parallel arrays but also more complex MT configurations, including the prominent MT bundles found in preprophase bands, leaf epidermal cells, and developing xylem.