Essential role of a kinesin-like protein in Arabidopsis trichome morphogenesis.
Little is known about how cell shape is controlled. We are using the morphogenesis of trichomes (plant hairs) on the plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model to study how cell shape is controlled. Wild-type Arabidopsis trichomes are large, single epidermal cells with a stalk and three or four branches, whereas in zwichel (zwi) mutants the trichomes have a shortened stalk and only two branches. To further understand the role of the ZWI gene in trichome morphogenesis we have cloned the wild-type ZWICHEL (ZWI) gene by T-DNA tagging, and report here that it encodes a member of the kinesin superfamily of microtubule motor proteins. Kinesin proteins transport diverse cellular materials in a directional manner along microtubules. Kinesin-like proteins are characterized by a highly conserved "head" region that comprises the motor domain, and a nonconserved "tail" region that is thought to participate in recognition and binding of the appropriate cargo.
Oppenheimer
D G
DG
Department of Biological Sciences, 301 Biology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0344, USA. doppenhe@biology.as.ua.edu
Pollock
M A
MA
Vacik
J
J
Szymanski
D B
DB
Ericson
B
B
Feldmann
K
K
Marks
M D
MD
D000048:Acanthamoeba; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004330:Drosophila; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D016547:Kinesins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009218:Myosins / Q000737:chemistry; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002148:Calmodulin-Binding Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C099551:KCBP protein, Arabidopsis; D010940:Plant Proteins; C036483:T-DNA; D009218:Myosins; D016547:Kinesins