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Plant Cell Advance Online Publication
Published on February 15, 2008; 10.1105/tpc.107.056846

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Received November 9, 2007
Returned for revision January 20, 2008
Accepted January 31, 2008

The Microtubule Plus-End Binding Protein EB1 Functions in Root Responses to Touch and Gravity Signals in Arabidopsis

Sherryl R. Bisgrove 1*, Yuh-Ru Julie Lee 2, Bo Liu 2, Nick T. Peters 3, and Darryl L. Kropf 3

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
2 Section of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616
3 Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sbisgrov{at}sfu.ca.

Microtubules function in concert with associated proteins that modify microtubule behavior and/or transmit signals that effect changes in growth. To better understand how microtubules and their associated proteins influence growth, we analyzed one family of microtubule-associated proteins, the END BINDING1 (EB1) proteins, in Arabidopsis thaliana (EB1a, EB1b, and EB1c). We find that antibodies directed against EB1 proteins colocalize with microtubules in roots, an observation that confirms previous reports using EB1-GFP fusions. We also find that T-DNA insertion mutants with reduced expression from EB1 genes have roots that deviate toward the left on vertical or inclined plates. Mutant roots also exhibit extended horizontal growth before they bend downward after tracking around an obstacle or after a 90° clockwise reorientation of the root. These observations suggest that leftward deviations in root growth may be the result of delayed responses to touch and/or gravity signals. Root lengths and widths are normal, indicating that the delay in bend formation is not due to changes in the overall rate of growth. In addition, the genotype with the most severe defects responds to low doses of microtubule inhibitors in a manner indistinguishable from the wild type, indicating that microtubule integrity is not a major contributor to the leftward deviations in mutant root growth.




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