title: Microtubules and the shape of plants to come.
abstract: Plants control the direction of cell expansion as a way of shaping growth. Since their discovery in plants 40 years ago, microtubules have been suspected of forming a template that helps to regulate the direction of growth. The detailed mechanism, however, has been elusive, especially as plants lack a microtubule-organizing centre. Developmental mutants are now beginning to show how microtubules are organized and how this affects plant morphology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK. clive.lloyd@bbsrc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Clive
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002482:Cellulose / Q000032:analysis; D020894:Microfibrils / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008870:Microtubules / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D063245:Plant Development; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010944:Plants / Q000648:ultrastructure*
chemical_list: D002482:Cellulose