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EB1 reveals mobile microtubule nucleation sites in Arabidopsis

Nature Cell Biology volume 5, pages 967–971 (2003)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 01 January 2004

Abstract

In plants, it is unclear how dispersed cortical microtubules are nucleated, polarized and organized in the absence of centrosomes. In Arabidopsis thaliana cells, expression of a fusion between the microtubule-end-binding protein AtEB1a and green fluorescent protein (GFP) results in labelling of spindle poles, where minus ends gather. During interphase, AtEB1a–GFP labels the microtubule plus end as a comet, but also marks the minus end as a site from which microtubules can grow and shrink. These minus-end nucleation sites are mobile, explaining how the cortical array can redistribute during the cell cycle and supporting the idea of a flexible centrosome in plants.

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Figure 1: AtEB1a–GFP associates with cortical microtubules in vivo.
Figure 2: AtEB1a and plus-end dynamics.
Figure 3: Localization of AtEB1a at mitosis and cytokinesis.
Figure 4: AtEB1a labels cortical nucleation sites.
Figure 5: Motility of minus-end foci.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant-in-aid from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to the John Innes Centre. We are grateful to B. Trevaskis of CSIRO Canberra for supplying the Gateway modified GFP vector. We thank P. Rossignol, O. Korolev and G. Roberts for assistance and M. Webb for reading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Colney, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK

    Jordi Chan, Grant M. Calder, John H. Doonan & Clive W. Lloyd

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Correspondence to Clive W. Lloyd.

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Chan, J., Calder, G., Doonan, J. et al. EB1 reveals mobile microtubule nucleation sites in Arabidopsis. Nat Cell Biol 5, 967–971 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1057

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