Faculty Opinions recommendation of Using the peptide BP100 as a cell-penetrating tool for the chemical engineering of actin filaments within living plant cells.

Microinjection of fluorescent probes into living plant cells reveals new aspects of cell structure and function. Microtubules and actin filaments are dynamic components of the cytoskeleton and are involved in cell growth, division and intracellular transport. To date, cytoskeletal probes used in microinjection studies have included rhodamine-phalloidin for labelling actin filaments and fluorescently labelled animal tubulin for incorporation into microtubules. From a recent study of Tradescantia stamen hair cells it appears that actin may have a role in defining the plane of cell division. Unlike microtubules, actin is present in the cell cortex and delimits the division site throughout mitosis. Herein, I shall describe actin, its arrangement and putative role in cell plate placement, in another material, living cells of Tradescantia leaf epidermis.The epidermis is peeled from the abaxial surface of young leaves usually without disruption to cytoplasmic streaming or cell division. The peel is stuck to the base of a well slide using 0.1% polyethylenimine and bathed in a solution of 1% mannitol +/− 1 mM probenecid.

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Primary cell wall inspired micro containers as a step towards a synthetic plant cell

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-14718-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

T. Paulraj ◽

S. Wennmalm ◽

D.C.F. Wieland ◽

A. V. Riazanova ◽

A. Dėdinaitė ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Plant Cell ◽

Plant Cell Wall ◽

Structural Integrity ◽

Plant Cells ◽

Lipid Vesicles ◽

Primary Cell Wall ◽

Living Plant ◽

A Cell ◽

Lipid Tubules

AbstractThe structural integrity of living plant cells heavily relies on the plant cell wall containing a nanofibrous cellulose skeleton. Hence, if synthetic plant cells consist of such a cell wall, they would allow for manipulation into more complex synthetic plant structures. Herein, we have overcome the fundamental difficulties associated with assembling lipid vesicles with cellulosic nanofibers (CNFs). We prepare plantosomes with an outer shell of CNF and pectin, and beneath this, a thin layer of lipids (oleic acid and phospholipids) that surrounds a water core. By exploiting the phase behavior of the lipids, regulated by pH and Mg2+ ions, we form vesicle-crowded interiors that change the outer dimension of the plantosomes, mimicking the expansion in real plant cells during, e.g., growth. The internal pressure enables growth of lipid tubules through the plantosome cell wall, which paves the way to the development of hierarchical plant structures and advanced synthetic plant cell mimics.

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Lipids trigger changes in the elasticity of the cytoskeleton in plant cells: a cell optical displacement assay for live cell measurements.

The Journal of Cell Biology ◽

10.1083/jcb.126.3.713 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 126 (3) ◽

pp. 713-726 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

S Grabski ◽

X G Xie ◽

J F Holland ◽

M Schindler

Keyword(s):

Linoleic Acid ◽

Plant Cells ◽

Ionophore A23187 ◽

Signaling Molecule ◽

Living Plant ◽

Optical Displacement ◽

A Cell ◽

Displacement Assay ◽

Transvacuolar Strands

An assay has been developed to quantitatively measure the tension and elasticity of the cytoskeleton in living plant cells. The cell optical displacement assay (CODA) uses a focused laser beam to optically trap and displace transvacuolar and cortical strands through a defined distance within the cell. Results from these experiments provide evidence for the classification of at least two rheologically distinct cytoskeletal assemblies, cortical and transvacuolar, that differ in their tension and response to both signaling molecules and reagents that perturb the cytoskeleton. It is further demonstrated that the tension of the transvacuolar strands can be significantly decreased by the addition of either linoleic acid, 1,2 dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol, or 1,3 dioctanoylglycerol. These decreases in tension could also be induced by lowering the cytoplasmic pH. In contrast, addition of Ca2+, Mg2+, or the ionophore A23187 to the cells caused a considerable increase in the tension of the transvacuolar strands. The data provides evidence that: (a) linoleic acid may be a signaling molecule in plant cells; (b) diacylglycerol functions as a signaling molecule through a protein kinase C-independent pathway mediated by PLA2; and (c) Ca2+ and pH have regulatory roles for controlling cytoskeleton tension and organization.

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