Microtubule Dynamics and Organization In The Plant Cortical Array

Live-cell studies have brought fresh insight into the organizational activities of the plant cortical array. Plant interphase arrays organize in the absence of a discrete microtubule organizing center, having plus and minus ends distributed throughout the cell cortex. Microtubule nucleation occurs a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of plant biology 2006-01, Vol.57 (1), p.859-875
Main Authors: Ehrhardt, D.W, Shaw, S.L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cells
cortex
cytoskeleton
Flowers & plants
interphase
literature reviews
Microtubules
mitosis
plant anatomy
Plants - metabolism
Polymers
Proteins
Translocation
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Summary:Live-cell studies have brought fresh insight into the organizational activities of the plant cortical array. Plant interphase arrays organize in the absence of a discrete microtubule organizing center, having plus and minus ends distributed throughout the cell cortex. Microtubule nucleation occurs at the cell cortex, frequently followed by minus-end detachment from origin sites. Microtubules associate tightly with the cell cortex, resisting lateral and axial translocation. Slow, intermitant loss of dimers from minus ends, coupled with growth-biased dynamic instability at the plus ends, results in the migration of cortically attached microtubules across the cell via polymer treadmilling. Microtubule-microtubule interactions, a direct consequence of treadmilling, result in polymer reorientation and creation of polymer bundles. The combined properties of microtubule dynamics and interactions among polymers constitute a system with predicted properties of self-organization.
ISSN:1543-5008
1545-2123
DOI:10.1146/annurev.arplant.57.032905.105329