European Plant Cytoskeletal Club meeting: A vital platform for advancing plant cytoskeleton research

The cytoskeletal architecture can be studied using different microscopic and biochemical techniques. Electron microscopy was instrumental in discovering the cytoskeletal architecture around the 1960s, which allowed obtaining structural information at a high-resolution level. However, the sample preparation procedure often limits this ability in biological samples. Several protocols have been developed over the years to optimize sample preparation. In one of the protocols known as rotary...

Cell division is essential for organismal growth and development. In animal cells, the central spindle and its associated proteins form the midbody, a structure that has an essential role in cytokinesis. In plants, the central spindle, along with the microtubules, actin, and other cell components, matures into the phragmoplast, which is necessary for cytokinesis. Unlike the stationary midbody, the phragmoplast expands centrifugally, eventually leading to the formation of the new cell wall.
The...

Overview of the Cytoskeleton
The cytoskeleton is a network of protein filaments present within the cell, having three distinct filaments ̶   microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. Each has characteristic features that distinguish them, including the dynamics of their assembly and disassembly, mechanical properties, polarity, and the type of molecular motors associated with them. Earlier, they were thought to be present only in eukaryotic cells; however, their...

Cytoskeletal filaments are polymeric forms of smaller protein subunits. However, individual cytoskeletal filaments may easily disassemble or associate with other similar filaments to form rigid structures. Microfilaments, made of actin monomers, rely on actin-binding proteins to form bundles and create networks of individual actin filaments. Microtubules rely on microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) to form sturdy cylindrical structures. However, the proteins involved in forming complex...

Plants have rigid cell walls that are made up of cell wall polysaccharides that mediate cell-cell adhesion. The primary cell walls of plants consist of two independent and interacting polysaccharide networks: a pectin matrix that embeds the second network comprising cellulose and hemicelluloses.
Pectins are complex heteropolymers mainly composed of negatively-charged α-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and some neutral glycosyl residues such as α-L-rhamnopyranose, α-L-arabinofuranose,...

A migrating cell changes its shape during the cyclic events of attachment and detachment from the substratum and repositions the cell organelles correspondingly. These complex events are orchestrated by the dynamic cytoskeletal network comprising actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Cytoskeletal crosstalk — the direct and indirect communication between the different components — is crucial for this coordination. Direct communication involves various linker...