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Microtubule basis for left-handed helical growth in Arabidopsis

Nature volume 417, pages 193–196 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Left–right asymmetry in plants can be found in helices of stalks, stems and tendrils, and in fan-like petal arrangements. The handedness in these asymmetric structures is often fixed in given species, indicating that genetic factors control asymmetric development1. Here we show that dominant negative mutations at the tubulin intradimer interface of α-tubulins 4 and 6 cause left-handed helical growth and clockwise twisting in elongating organs of Arabidopsis thaliana. We demonstrate that the mutant tubulins incorporate into microtubule polymers, producing right-handed obliquely oriented cortical arrays, in the root epidermal cells. The cortical microtubules in the mutants had increased sensitivity to microtubule-specific drugs. These results suggest that reduced microtubule stability can produce left-handed helical growth in plants.

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Figure 1: Helical growth phenotypes of lefty mutants and their suppressors.
Figure 2: Mutation points in lefty and their suppressors in amino-acid sequences of α-tubulin6 and α-tubulin4.
Figure 3: The lefty mutant cortical microtubules are arranged in right-handed helices and are more sensitive to microtubule-destabilizing drugs.
Figure 4: Incorporation of lefty-type tubulin into microtubule arrays.

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Acknowledgements

We thank V. Lewandowski for RH-4032, G. Wasteneys for valuable comments and suggestions on the manuscript, and ABRC for the g20182 clone. This study was in part supported by grants from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan to T.H.

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  1. Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Takayama 8916-5, Ikoma, 630-0101, Japan

    Siripong Thitamadee, Kazuko Tuchihara & Takashi Hashimoto

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  1. Siripong Thitamadee
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Correspondence to Takashi Hashimoto.

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Thitamadee, S., Tuchihara, K. & Hashimoto, T. Microtubule basis for left-handed helical growth in Arabidopsis. Nature 417, 193–196 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/417193a

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