Application of Lifeact reveals F-actin dynamics in Arabidopsis thaliana and the liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha.
Actin plays fundamental roles in a wide array of plant functions, including cell division, cytoplasmic streaming, cell morphogenesis and organelle motility. Imaging the actin cytoskeleton in living cells is a powerful methodology for studying these important phenomena. Several useful probes for live imaging of filamentous actin (F-actin) have been developed, but new versatile probes are still needed. Here, we report the application of a new probe called Lifeact for visualizing F-actin in plant cells. Lifeact is a short peptide comprising 17 amino acids that was derived from yeast Abp140p. We used a Lifeact-Venus fusion protein for staining F-actin in Arabidopsis thaliana and were able to observe dynamic rearrangements of the actin meshwork in root hair cells. We also used Lifeact-Venus to visualize the actin cytoskeleton in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha; this revealed unique and dynamic F-actin motility in liverwort cells. Our results suggest that Lifeact could be a useful tool for studying the actin cytoskeleton in a wide range of plant lineages.
Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Atsuko
A
Era
Motoki
M
Tominaga
Kazuo
K
Ebine
Chie
C
Awai
Chieko
C
Saito
Kimitsune
K
Ishizaki
Katsuyuki T
KT
Yamato
Takayuki
T
Kohchi
Akihiko
A
Nakano
Takashi
T
Ueda
D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D047008:Marchantia / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods
D000199:Actins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D015335:Molecular Probes; D010455:Peptides; C054562:yellow fluorescent protein, Bacteria