Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Vidali, Luis
• Rounds, Caleb M
• Hepler, Peter K
• Bezanilla, Magdalena
• Baxter, Ivan

Titel

Lifeact-mEGFP Reveals a Dynamic Apical F-Actin Network in Tip Growing Plant Cells

Ist Teil von

• PloS one, 2009-05, Vol.4 (5), p.e5744

Ort / Verlag

United States: Public Library of Science

Erscheinungsjahr

2009

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Background: Actin is essential for tip growth in plants. However, imaging actin in live plant cells has heretofore presented challenges. In previous studies, fluorescent probes derived from actin-binding proteins often alter growth, cause actin bundling and fail to resolve actin microfilaments. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this report we use Lifeact-mEGFP, an actin probe that does not affect the dynamics of actin, to visualize actin in the moss Physcomitrella patens and pollen tubes from Lilium formosanum and Nicotiana tobaccum. Lifeact-mEGFP robustly labels actin microfilaments, particularly in the apex, in both moss protonemata and pollen tubes. Lifeact-mEGFP also labels filamentous actin structures in other moss cell types, including cells of the gametophore. Conclusions/Significance: Lifeact-mEGFP, when expressed at optimal levels does not alter moss protonemal or pollen tube growth. We suggest that Lifeact-mEGFP represents an exciting new versatile probe for further studies of actin's role in tip growing plant cells.