AOBPreview published online on December 23, 2008
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mcn248
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INVITED REVIEW |
Evaluating the microtubule cytoskeleton and its interacting proteins in monocots by mining the rice genome
1 State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology, China National Rice Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310006, China
2 Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
* For correspondence. E-mail: bliu{at}ucdavis.edu
Received: 12 September 2008 Returned for revision: 20 October 2008 Accepted: 17 November 2008
Background: Microtubules (MTs) are assembled by heterodimers of 
- and β-tubulins, which provide tracks for directional transport and frameworks for the spindle apparatus and the phragmoplast. MT nucleation and dynamics are regulated by components such as the 
-tubulin complex which are conserved among eukaryotes, and other components which are unique to plants. Following remarkable progress made in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana toward revealing key components regulating MT activities, the completed rice (Oryza sativa) genome has prompted a survey of the MT cytoskeleton in this important crop as a model for monocots.
Scope: The rice genome contains three -tubulin genes, eight β-tubulin genes and a single -tubulin gene. A functional -tubulin ring complex is expected to form in rice as genes encoding all components of the complex are present. Among proteins that interact with MTs, compared with A. thaliana, rice has more genes encoding some members such as the MAP65/Ase1p/PRC1 family, but fewer for the motor kinesins, the end-binding protein EB1 and the mitotic kinase Aurora. Although most known MT-interacting factors have apparent orthologues in rice, no orthologues of arabidopsis RIC1 and MAP18 have been identified in rice. Among all proteins surveyed here, only a few have had their functions characterized by genetic means in rice. Elucidating functions of proteins of the rice MT cytoskeleton, aided by recent technical advances made in this model monocot, will greatly advance our knowledge of how monocots employ their MTs to regulate their growth and form.
Key words: Cytoskeleton, kinesins, microtubules (MTs), microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), motors, rice, Oryza sativa
These authors contributed equally to this work.