Nuclear spectrin-like proteins are structural actin-binding proteins in plants

Although actin is a relevant component of the plant nucleus, only three nuclear ABPs (actin-binding proteins) have been identified in plants to date: cofilin, profilin and nuclear myosin I. Although plants lack orthologues of the main structural nuclear ABPs in animals, such as lamins, lamin-associated proteins and nesprins, their genome does contain sequences with spectrin repeats and N-terminal calponin homology domains for actin binding that might be distant relatives of spectrin. We investigated here whether spectrin-like proteins could act as structural nuclear ABPs in plants.

We have investigated the presence of spectrins in Allium cepa meristematic nuclei by Western blotting, confocal and electron microscopy, using antibodies against α- and β-spectrin chains that cross-react in plant nuclei. Their role as nuclear ABPs was analysed by co-immunoprecipitation and IF (immunofluorescence) co-localization and their association with the nuclear matrix was investigated by sequential extraction of nuclei with non-ionic detergent, and in low- and high-salt buffers after nuclease digestion. Our results demonstrate the existence of several spectrin-like proteins in the nucleus of onion cells that have different intranuclear distributions in asynchronous meristematic populations and associate with the nuclear matrix. These nuclear proteins co-immunoprecipitate and co-localize with actin.

These results reveal that the plant nucleus contains spectrin-like proteins that are structural nuclear components and function as ABPs. Their intranuclear distribution suggests that plant nuclear spectrin-like proteins could be involved in multiple nuclear functions.