Plant microtubule cytoskeleton complexity: microtubule arrays as fractals

Biological systems are by nature complex and this complexity has been shown to be important in maintaining homeostasis. The plant microtubule cytoskeleton is a highly complex system, with contributing factors through interactions with microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), expression of multiple tubulin isoforms, and post-translational modification of tubulin and MAPs. Some of this complexity is specific to microtubules, such as a redundancy in factors that regulate microtubule depolymerization. Plant microtubules form partial helical fractals that play a key role in development. It is suggested that, under certain cellular conditions, other categories of microtubule fractals may form including isotropic fractals, triangular fractals, and branched fractals. Helical fractal proteins including coiled-coil and armadillo/beta-catenin repeat proteins and the actin cytoskeleton are important here too. Either alone, or in combination, these fractals may drive much of plant development.