TCS1, a Microtubule-Binding Protein, Interacts with KCBP/ZWICHEL to Regulate Trichome Cell Shape in Arabidopsis thaliana.

How cell shape is controlled is a fundamental question in developmental biology, but the genetic and molecular mechanisms that determine cell shape are largely unknown. Arabidopsis trichomes have been used as a good model system to investigate cell shape at the single-cell level. Here we describe the trichome cell shape 1 (tcs1) mutants with the reduced trichome branch number in Arabidopsis. TCS1 encodes a coiled-coil domain-containing protein. Pharmacological analyses and observations of microtubule dynamics show that TCS1 influences the stability of microtubules. Biochemical analyses and live-cell imaging indicate that TCS1 binds to microtubules and promotes the assembly of microtubules. Further results reveal that TCS1 physically associates with KCBP/ZWICHEL, a microtubule motor involved in the regulation of trichome branch number. Genetic analyses indicate that kcbp/zwi is epistatic to tcs1 with respect to trichome branch number. Thus, our findings define a novel genetic and molecular mechanism by which TCS1 interacts with KCBP to regulate trichome cell shape by influencing the stability of microtubules.

Citation

Liangliang Chen, Yuancheng Peng, Juan Tian, Xiaohong Wang, Zhaosheng Kong, Tonglin Mao, Ming Yuan, Yunhai Li. TCS1, a Microtubule-Binding Protein, Interacts with KCBP/ZWICHEL to Regulate Trichome Cell Shape in Arabidopsis thaliana. PLoS genetics. 2016 Oct;12(10):e1006266

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PMID: 27768706

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