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Updated: Aug 24, 2026

In vivo Assessment of Microtubule Dynamics and Orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans Neurons
Published on: November 20, 2021
The cytoskeleton in nematode feeding sites
J de Almeida Engler1, K Van Poucke, M Karimi
1Department of Plant Systems Biology, Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology Ghent University, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
Abstract:
Sedentary edoparasitic nematodes induce specialised feeding cells in plant roots. Giant cells induced by root knot nematodes and syncytia generated by cyst nematodes in plant roots are large multinucleated cells containing a dense cytoplasm. To examine the plant cytoskeleton during feeding cell development, transcriptional activity of actin and tubulin genes and organization of the actin filaments and of the microtubules were analyzed in situ. Immunolocalizations of actins and tubulins and in vivo observation of green fluorescent protein decorated actin filaments and microtubules in nematode infected root cells revealed that major rearrangements of the cytoskeleton occur during the formation of nematode induced feeding cells.
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