title: EF-1[alpha] Is Associated with a Cytoskeletal Network Surrounding Protein Bodies in Maize Endosperm Cells.
abstract: By using indirect immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, we documented changes in the distribution of elongation factor-1[alpha] (EF-1[alpha]), actin, and microtubules during the development of maize endosperm cells. In older interphase cells actively forming starch grains and protein bodies, the protein bodies are enmeshed in EF-1[alpha] and actin and are found juxtaposed with a multidirectional array of microtubules. Actin and EF-1[alpha] appear to exist in a complex, because we observed that the two are colocalized, and treatment with cytochalasin D resulted in the redistribution of EF-1[alpa]. These data suggest that EF-1[alpha] and actin are associated in maize endosperm cells and may help to explain the basis of the correlation we found between the concentration of EF-1[alpha] and lysine content. The data also support the hypothesis that the cytoskeleton plays a role in storage protein deposition. The distributions of EF-1[alpha] actin, and microtubules change during development. We observed that in young cells before the accumulation of starch and storage protein, EF-1[alpha], actin, and microtubules are found mainly in the cell cortex or in association with nuclei.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721.
authors.forename: A. M.
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Clore
authors.forename: J. M.
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dannenhoffer
authors.forename: B. A.
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Larkins