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Plant Physiol. (1998) 116: 1043-1051
Extending the Microtubule/Microfibril Paradigm1
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ABSTRACT |
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The cortical microtubule array
provides spatial information to the cellulose-synthesizing machinery
within the plasma membrane of elongating cells. Until now data
indicated that information is transferred from organized cortical
microtubules to the cellulose-synthesizing complex, which results in
the deposition of ordered cellulosic walls. How cortical microtubules
become aligned is unclear. The literature indicates that biophysical
forces, transmitted by the organized cellulose component of the cell
wall, provide a spatial cue to orient cortical microtubules. This
hypothesis was tested on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)
protoplasts and suspension-cultured cells treated with the cellulose
synthesis inhibitor isoxaben. Isoxaben (0.25-2.5 µm)
inhibited the synthesis of cellulose microfibrils (detected by staining
with 1 µg mL
1 fluorescent dye and polarized
birefringence), the cells failed to elongate, and the cortical
microtubules failed to become organized. The affects of isoxaben were
reversible, and after its removal microtubules reorganized and cells
elongated. Isoxaben did not depolymerize microtubules in vivo or
inhibit the polymerization of tubulin in vitro. These data are
consistent with the hypothesis that cellulose microfibrils, and hence
cell elongation, are involved in providing spatial cues for cortical
microtubule organization. These results compel us to extend the
microtubule/microfibril paradigm to include the bidirectional flow of
information.
Cell elongation is necessary for normal plant morphogenesis.
During this developmental event, highly organized microfibrils of
cellulose confine turgor-driven cellular expansion to a single major
axis of growth (Green and Poethig, 1982 In the primary wall of an elongating cell, cellulose microfibrils are
deposited in an ordered configuration at right angles to the major axis
of elongation (Gertel and Green, 1977 Changes in the arrangements of cortical microtubules follow (or
accompany) alterations in the growth status of cells (Cyr and Palevitz,
1995 Isoxaben is a herbicide that inhibits the incorporation of Glc into the
cellulose-rich, acid-insoluble fraction of isolated walls and is an
extremely powerful and specific inhibitor of cell wall biosynthesis
(Heim et al., 1990b The regenerating protoplast was chosen as our experimental model. A
freshly isolated tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) protoplast lacks a wall and is spherical. These spherical cells contain cortical microtubules in a relatively random configuration (Hasezawa et al.,
1988 The data presented here support the hypothesis that the mechanical
properties of the wall influence the organization of the cortical
microtubule array. These results are discussed in terms of a broadened
view of the microtubule/microfibril paradigm (Giddings and Staehelin,
1991 Plant Material and Culturing
![]()
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
; Delmer and Armor, 1995).
Therefore, correctly ordered cellulose microfibrils are essential for
proper cell differentiation (Green and Selker, 1991
).
). The ordering of nascent
cellulose microfibrils is controlled by cortical microtubules
(Williamson, 1991
; Cyr and Palevitz, 1995
). When cortical microtubules
are disrupted with anti-microtubule agents, ordered cellulose
deposition does not occur and the cell fails to elongate properly
(Morejohn, 1991
). Precisely how cortical microtubules affect cellulose
alignment is uncertain, but the available data indicate that cortical
microtubules act indirectly by limiting the avenues available for the
movement of cellulose synthase complexes as they glide within the fluid
milieu of the plasma membrane (Giddings and Staehelin, 1991
). Although
it is clear that microtubules provide the spatial information necessary to ensure proper cellulose microfibril alignment, it is less clear how
microtubules acquire their own alignment cues.
). Rearrangements have also been noted following hormonal and light
treatments and application of exogenous forces (mechanical,
centrifugal, and electrical; Williamson, 1991
; Shibaoka, 1994
; Cyr and
Palevitz, 1995
; Hush and Overall, 1996
; Wymer et al., 1996b
). Although
it is known that the cortical array changes as a result of these
treatments, it is unclear how these treatments provide the spatial
informational cues that act to guide the cortical microtubules to their
proper locations. It has been suggested that cortical microtubules are
sensitive to mechanical strain and therefore use the vector of cell
expansion as a spatial cue (Green et al., 1970
). If this hypothesis is
correct, then treatments that affect the mechanical properties of the
growing wall should alter the arrangement of cortical
microtubules. We tested this hypothesis using a compound that inhibits
cellulose synthesis.
; Corio-Costet et al., 1991b
). Cell
wall-fractionation studies have revealed that the herbicidal action of
isoxaben can be explained entirely by its effect on cellulose
biosynthesis (Heim et al., 1991
). Its probable mode of action is to
directly inhibit cellulose synthesis, because resistant cell lines show
an unaltered uptake or detoxification of the herbicide (Heim et al.,
1991
) and only two genetic loci in Arabidopsis thaliana have
been shown to confer resistance (Heim et al., 1989
, 1990a
). Exhaustive
studies have revealed that other cellular processes are unaffected by
isoxaben (e.g. seed germination, mitosis, respiration, photosynthesis,
and lipid and RNA synthesis, Lefebvre et al., 1987
; Corio-Costet et
al., 1991a
). Treated cells fail to elongate with high fidelity and
consequently grow isodiametrically (Lefebvre et al., 1987
). This
herbicide acts at much lower concentrations (< 40×) than
dichlobenil, another cellulose synthesis inhibitor (Heim et al.,
1990b
). Therefore, the properties of isoxaben make it an ideal agent
for perturbing the mechanical properties of the primary cell wall.
). Shortly after the removal of protoplasting enzymes, the wall
begins to regenerate and the cortical microtubule array begins to
reorder. Within 3 d, a new cell wall is regenerated, the cortical
microtubules acquire full order, and the cells begin elongation
(Hasezawa et al., 1988
; Kuss-Wymer and Cyr, 1992
; Wymer et al., 1996a
).
This system allows us to closely examine the relationship among cell
wall synthesis, microtubule organization, and cell growth.
), in which the cortical microtubules supply positional information
to the cellulose microfibrils, and the cellulose microfibrils, in turn,
provide biophysical information back to the underlying cortical
microtubules. In short, microtubules and microfibrils make up a
self-rectifying, feedback organizational system.
![]()
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
1 Murashige-Skoog salts
(GIBCO-BRL), 100 mg L
1 myo-inositol, 1 mg
L
1 thiamine-HCl, 0.2 mg
L
1 2,4-D, and 30 g
L
1 Suc, pH 5.0, in 500-mL Erlenmeyer flasks on
a rotary shaker at 26°C in the dark. All chemicals listed here were
from Sigma unless otherwise noted.
Protoplast Preparation and Culturing
Protoplasts were isolated enzymatically using 1% (w/v) Cellulase-YC and 0.1% (w/v) Pectyolase Y-23, pH 5.0 (Seishan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) with 0.35 m mannitol added as an osmoticum. Three- to 5-d-old cells were incubated in the enzyme solution for approximately 2 h at room temperature with gentle agitation on a rotary shaker. Protoplasts were filtered from cellular debris passively through lightly packed cotton in a 10-mL syringe base and then washed twice with PMM buffer (50 mm Pipes, pH 6.9, 1 mm MgSO4, 1 mm EGTA, and 0.35 m mannitol). All of the above steps were done aseptically. Protoplasts were typically resuspended in a medium that favored elongative growth (FMS medium: 4.3 g L
1 Murashige-Skoog salts, 10 g
L
1 Suc, 0.30 m mannitol, 100 mg
L
1 myo-inositol, and 1.0 mg
L
1 each of nicotinic acid and pyridoxine-HCl;
modified from Hasezawa and Syono, 1983Isoxaben Treatment
Isoxaben (95%, N-3-[1-ethyl-1-methyl-propyl]-5-isoxazolyl-2, 6-dimethoxybenzamide) was graciously supplied by DowElanco (Indianapolis, IN) and was made up as a concentrated ethanol stock solution and used at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 5.0 µm. The final concentration of ethanol was less than 0.05%. Control cultures without isoxaben contained the same amount of ethanol as the isoxaben-treated cultures; no effect of ethanol was noted. Isoxaben-treated protoplasts were cultured as described above.Monitoring Cell Wall Regeneration
Cell wall regeneration was monitored immediately after the protoplasts were released and cultured with or without isoxaben. Cellefluor (1 µg mL
1, Polysciences, Inc.,
Washington, PA) was used to visualize cellulose microfibrils and,
hence, the initiation and progress of cell wall formation. In older
cells the orientation of microfibrils is difficult to resolve because
of excessive out-of-focus fluorescent flare, but can be analyzed by
observing the birefringent properties of the wall with a microscope
(Axioskop, Zeiss) equipped for polarizing microscopy using a 100-W
mercury arc lamp for illumination. Images were captured with an
integrating charge-coupled device camera and digitally processed
(Argus 20, Hammamatsu Corp., Bridgewater, NJ).
Cellular Morphometry
Diameters of 30 individual control and isoxaben-treated cells were measured at selected time intervals from digitized images (Image-Pro Plus, Media Cybernetics, Silver Spring, MD). Volume calculations for a sphere were made for isoxaben-treated protoplasts and mean volumes were determined.Immunolocalization of Cortical Microtubules
Microtubules in lysed and nonlysed cells were examined via immunolocalization techniques. Cells were settled onto poly-l-Lys-coated slides (applied as a 1 mg mL
1 solution, Mr
300,000) for 3 min. Excess medium was removed by wicking, and
detergent lysis buffer (50 mm Pipes, pH 6.9, 1 mm MgSO4, 10 mm
3-[(cholamidopropyl) dimethyl- ammonio]- 1-propanesulfonic acid , and
5 µg mL
1 each of the following protease
inhibitors: antipain, aprotinin, chymostatin, leupeptin, and pepstatin
C) was applied for 5 min. After lysing, the buffer was wicked away and
the cells were fixed for 30 min with 4% (w/v) formaldehyde (made fresh
from paraformaldehyde), 0.1% (v/v) glutaraldehyde, 50 mm
Pipes, pH 6.9, 5 mm EGTA, 2 mm MgSO4, 1% (v/v) glycerol, and 0.30 m
mannitol. Fixative was wicked off and the slides were rinsed in a
beaker of PBS for 3 min, followed by dehydration with methanol at
20°C for 3 min, and then blocked with 3% (w/v) BSA in PBS for
5 min. A polyclonal antibody raised against soybean tubulin in a rabbit
was applied for at least 60 min. After the slides were rinsed for 15 min in PBS, they were incubated in a goat anti-rabbit fluorescein
isothiocyanate-conjugated antibody for at least 1 h and then
rinsed for 15 min in PBS.
1 protease inhibitors (listed above).
This step aids in increased antibody accessibility (primary and
secondary antibodies were applied for at least 4 h). All slides
were mounted with 4 m glycerol and 100 mm Tris,
pH 9.0, containing 1 mg mL
1 phenylenediamine
(to reduce fluorescent fading) and 1 mg mL
1
Hoescht 33258 (Calbiochem) to visualize nuclei. The slides were viewed
with an Axioskop microscope and a laser-scanning confocal microscope
(model LSM 410, Zeiss) using the 488-nm line of the argon-ion laser for
excitation, a 488 dichroic mirror (Zeiss), and 515- to 540-nm emission
filters (Zeiss). Images were either captured from one focal plane or
the depth-of-focus option was used to simultaneously view more than one
plane.
Isolation of Tubulin and in Vitro Assembly of Microtubules
Carrot tubulin was isolated and purified using the methods described by Moore et al. (1997)| |
RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Isoxaben Inhibits Normal Cell Wall Deposition and Elongation in Cultured Protoplasts
Freshly isolated tobacco BY-2 protoplasts were devoid of demonstrable cellulose microfibrils, as detected by Cellefluor (Fig. 1a). However, detectable microfibrils appeared within 15 min of culturing, after enzyme removal (Fig. 1b). The deposition of microfibrils was cumulative and became very pronounced by 45 min (Fig. 1c). The cellulose deposited by 15 min rendered the protoplasts osmotically stable, as evidenced by their inability to burst when transferred into hypotonic medium (data not shown).
|
Isoxaben Does Not Inhibit Growth or Irreversibly Damage
Protoplasts
). Such ordering alters
the optical properties of the wall, causing them to become
birefringent. The primary cell wall deposited by a tobacco BY-2
protoplast that had been cultured for 7 d had a birefringent
pattern when examined with polarized light microscopy (Fig.
2a), which is characteristic of a highly
organized arrangement of cellulose microfibrils (Richmond, 1983
).
Characteristically, birefringence was lost when the cell was turned at
a 45° angle (Fig. 2b). Birefringence was not discernible at either
angle in the cell walls of protoplasts that were similarly cultured for 7 d in the presence of 2.5 µm isoxaben (Fig. 2, c
and d). Therefore, the ordered cellulose microfibrils of tobacco BY-2
cells permitted cell elongation (Fig. 2e), but, presumably, the lack of
ordered cellulose microfibrils in isoxaben-treated protoplasts
caused the cell to remain spherical (Fig. 2f).

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Figure 2.
Isoxaben-treated protoplasts exhibit neither
birefringent cell walls nor cellular elongation. Ordered cellulose
microfibrils have optical properties that render them birefringent by
polarized light microscopy. Cultured tobacco BY-2 protoplasts have
highly organized cellulose microfibrils, as evidenced by their
birefringent properties (a). When birefringent cells are turned at a
45° angle, they lose their birefringent character (b). Birefingence
is not observed at either angle when protoplasts are cultured for
7 d in the presence of 2.5 µm isoxaben (c and d,
smaller apparent size is due to the focal plane being at the top of the
spherical protoplast). Ordered cellulose microfibrils permit cell
elongation (e), and the lack of ordered microfibrils in
isoxaben-treated protoplasts results in the inability of cells to
elongate (f). The cells shown in e and f were both cultured for 7 d. Bars = 20 µm (a and b), 6 µm (c and d), and 40 µm (e and
f).
Isoxaben Inhibits the Acquisition of Cortical Microtubule Order in
Regenerating Protoplasts
Isoxaben Inhibits the Maintenance of Cortical Microtubule Order in
Growing, Walled Cells
Isoxaben Does Not Directly Affect the Polymerization of Plant
Tubulin Assembled in Vitro
Isoxaben inhibits cellulose synthesis in a number of plant species
(Lefebvre et al., 1987 Received September 19, 1997;
accepted November 19, 1997.
We would like to thank Dr. Kevin Vaughn, who recommended the use
of isoxaben for these experiments, for many helpful conversations, and
for sharing prepublication data. We would also like to thank Dr. Simon
Gilroy for critically reading the manuscript.
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Park
). Identically cultured 2.5 µm isoxaben-treated protoplasts failed to elongate but,
rather, grew spherically. The mean volume of isoxaben-treated
protoplasts was calculated for 14 d and was found to steadily
increase until approximately 11 d, when their growth slowed (Fig.
3). Also noteworthy was the extremely
active streaming of cytoplasmic strands observed in these robust cells
(even after 1 month of culturing in the presence of isoxaben; data not
shown). Extremely high concentrations (50-100 µm) of
isoxaben did not affect growth, and no evidence of lethality was
observed after treating protoplasts with this agent; this was not the
case if such high concentrations were added to walled suspension-
cultured cells (data not shown).

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Figure 3.
Isoxaben-treated cells increase in volume. Tobacco
BY-2 protoplasts cultured with 2.5 µm isoxaben have mean
volumes that increase steadily during culture. Growth slows but does
not cease after d 11. Error bars = sd;
n = 25.

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Figure 4.
Isoxaben does not irreversibly damage protoplasts.
Tobacco BY-2 protoplasts were cultured for 48 h in the presence of
2.5 µm isoxaben, rinsed three times thoroughly with
culture medium, and then cultured for 7 d without isoxaben.
Isoxaben's effects were reversed by removal of the cellulose
inhibitor, and cell elongation proceeded normally (a). When the
protoplasts were treated for a shorter time (2 h) with 2.5 µm isoxaben and were then washed and cultured in
isoxaben-free culture medium, the cells stained positively for
cellulose microfibrils via Cellefluor (1 µg mL
1) within
60 min, revealing a quick reversal time for isoxaben's effects.
Bars = 20 µm (a) and 2.5 µm (b).
).
However, it does not explain how cortical microtubules acquire their
spatial information. Biophysical forces may be involved in the
alignment of these cortical elements (Green and Selker, 1991
;
Williamson, 1991
; Cyr, 1994a
; Zandomeni and Schopfer, 1994
; Hush and
Overall, 1996
). If this hypothesis is correct, then a perturbation of
cellulose deposition (which controls the direction of cellular strain)
should inhibit the acquisition of the order of cortical microtubules.
Isoxaben was chosen to examine this hypothesis because it provides a
perturbation without being irreversibly harmful to protoplasts.

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Figure 5.
Isoxaben inhibits the acquisition of cortical
microtubule order in regenerating protoplasts. Freshly isolated tobacco
BY-2 protoplasts have randomly organized cortical microtubules that are
demonstrable with a plant anti-tubulin antibody (a). Culturing of these
protoplasts results in elongate cells with highly organized cortical
microtubules by 7 d (b). Similarly isolated protoplasts exposed
for 2 h to 2.5 µm isoxaben also have randomly
organized cortical microtubules (c). After 7 d of culturing in the
presence of isoxaben, the majority of cells still possess randomly
organized microtubules and the overall shape of the cell remains round
(d). In < 25% of such treated cells, some regional ordering of
microtubules was observed, but even these cells retained their round
shape (e). Protoplasts treated with 2.5 µm isoxaben for
4 h and cultured in the absence of isoxaben also elongated and
possessed highly organized cortical microtubules by 7 d (f).
Bar = 20 µm.
). As
the cells begin elongating, the cortical microtubule arrays become
highly ordered, with order being maintained throughout cell expansion
(Hasezawa et al., 1988
). Elongative growth requires that newly
synthesized cellulose be deposited in the proper orientation to ensure
continued anisotropic expansion. We hypothesized that these newly
intercalated cellulose microfibrils were required to maintain the
cortical microtubule array in its highly ordered configuration.

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Figure 6.
Isoxaben inhibits the maintenance of cortical
microtubule order in growing, walled, suspension-cultured cells.
Tobacco BY-2 suspension-cultured cells were cultured with 1.0 µm isoxaben, and within 5 d numerous cells within a
file of cells began to bulge and became spherical (a). The spherical
portion of the cells had cortical microtubules that were more
unorganized than their nonspherical portion, as demonstrated with a
plant anti-tubulin antibody (b, confocal image of five stacked images,
1 µm each). Many of these spherical cells were eventually released
from their weakened cell walls and observed as protoplast-like entities
(c). These released cells also possessed randomly organized cortical microtubules (d). Bars = 20 µm.
) and cause their depolymerization in vitro (Mizuno and Suzaki, 1990
). Therefore, isoxaben was tested to determine whether it has two specific and independent modes of action: (a) to inhibit cellulose synthesis and (b)
to disorder microtubules in a pathway that initially involves microtubule depolymerization. Although we found no evidence that isoxaben depolymerizes microtubules in vivo, we wanted to corroborate this finding in vitro. To do this, purified tubulin was obtained from
suspension-cultured carrot cells (the yield is higher from carrot cells
than from tobacco) and was assembled into microtubules in the absence
(Fig. 7a) and in the presence (Fig. 7b)
of isoxaben. Isoxaben, at equal stoichiometry (40 µm),
did not affect the assembly of tubulin into microtubules. However,
tubulin did not assemble into microtubules when an equal stoichiometry
of isopropyl N-(3-chlorophenyl)-carbamate (a phenylcarbamate
herbicide) was similarly tested (data not shown), indicating that
isoxaben and the phenylcarbamates have different modes of action.

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Figure 7.
Isoxaben does not affect tubulin assembly in
vitro. Purified carrot tubulin (40 µm) assembles readily
into microtubules, which are observable by dark-field microscopy (a).
When isoxaben is added at an equal stoichiometry (40 µm)
to a similar tubulin preparation, assembly of tubulin is unaffected
(b). Bar = 5 µm.
![]()
DISCUSSION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
; Heim et al., 1989
, 1990a
, 1990b
, 1991
, 1993
;
Corio-Costet et al., 1991a
, 1991b
; Schneegurt et al., 1994
). We
confirmed this mode of action in isoxaben-treated tobacco BY-2
protoplasts with four lines of evidence: (a) deposition of microfibrils, demonstrable by Cellefluor, is inhibited; (b) cells fail
to grow anisotropically; (c) cell walls never acquire a birefringent character; and (d) protoplasts show prolonged sensitivity to
hypoosmotic lysis. Although cellulose synthesis is inhibited, other
cell wall carbohydrates are probably synthesized, because some amorphic Cellefluor-stained material is observed after prolonged culture, and
eventually the protoplasts become resistant to hypoosmotic lysis. The
presence of some amorphic cell wall material is not surprising, because
pectin synthesis continues in the presence of this herbicide (K. Vaughn, personal communication); moreover, cellulose-binding dyes (such
as Cellefluor) stain a variety of carbohydrate polymers (Maeda and
Ishida, 1967
; Hughes and McCully, 1975
). In spite of the presence of
some wall material, the isoxaben-treated protoplasts are incompetent to
undergo normal morphogenesis and fail to show any sign of anisotropic
growth even after 2 months of culture (data not shown). We conclude
that normal, cellulosic-containing walls are not synthesized in
isoxaben-treated tobacco protoplasts.
) and, consequently, the cells grow round.
; Stephens and Wood, 1975
). The
hypersensitive response involves the release of endogenous wall
components, which then act to kill the affected cells (Bucheli et al.,
1990
). We postulate that isoxaben, by interfering with cellulose
synthesis in walled cells, leads to the accumulation or release of
noncellulosic wall constituents that induce a hypersensitive reaction.
Protoplasts that lack walls are not susceptible to this secondary
lethal action of isoxaben.
; Hoffman and Vaughn, 1994
),
its mechanism of action is different. Griseofulvin and phenylcarbonate
likely affect the ordering of cortical microtubule arrays by directly
interacting with the microtubules themselves. Both inhibitors block the
assembly of purified tubulin in vitro (Morejohn, 1991
; Zhang, 1995
),
and short-term treatment causes the depolymerization of microtubules
(although after prolonged treatment they can return, albeit in a
disordered state). However, isoxaben does not have any noticeable
short-term effect on cortical microtubules, and in vitro tubulin
assembly is unaffected by this compound. We conclude that isoxaben does
not act directly to alter the intrinsic character of the microtubule
polymer; rather, the data indicate that isoxaben's effect on the
ordering of microtubules is consequential to its inhibitory action on
cellulose synthesis.
]). The
failure of cortical microtubules to fully acquire order in these cells
is consistent with the hypothesis that the microtubule alignment
process requires a morphogenically competent cell wall that can
properly contain turgor-based growth forces. Additionally, isoxaben
affects the organization of microtubules in cells with walls but only
after there is a marked change in their growth character and the cells
lose their morphogenic competency (i.e. they fail to express a major
strain axis).
found that cortical microtubule alignment in cells with walls
was un-affected by relatively short treatment times with another
cellulose inhibitor, dichlobenil. However, in addition to reporting
only short treatment times, a significant amount of the initial cell
wall was in place. This would predictably permit normal biophysical
force transduction and thereby allow for normal biophysical cues to be
transmitted to the microtubules. Like isoxaben, dichlobenil inhibits
only newly deposited cellulose microfibrils, although it may act at a
later biochemical step (Durso and Vaughn, 1997
). We found that 10 µm dichlobenil-treated protoplasts behaved similarly to
those treated with isoxaben (i.e. longer treatment times result in
round cells lacking ordered microtubules, data not shown). We interpret
these data as support of a biophysical strain model for microtubule
alignment. Microtubules can acquire order via the acquisition of
spatial information, as long as the cell possesses the ability to
express a dominant strain axis. As was depicted in Figure 6, this
alignment process apparently can function regionally in the cell; that
region of the cell that is spherical has disorganized microtubules,
whereas that region retaining an elongate character has ordered
microtubules.
1
This work was supported by a grant from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture-National Research Initiative Competitive
Grants Program and the Department of Energy Bioscience Program.
![]()
FOOTNOTES
*
Corresponding author; e-mail rjc8{at}psu.edu; fax 1-814-865-9131.
![]()
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
![]()
LITERATURE CITED
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
a time-course observation by immunofluorescence microscopy.
J Plant Physiol
133:
46-51
Copyright Clearance Center: 0032-0889/98/116/1043/09
© 1998 American Society of Plant Physiologists
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