Authors
Arun Sampathkumar, Pawel Krupinski, Raymond Wightman, Pascale Milani, Alexandre Berquand, Arezki Boudaoud, Olivier Hamant, Henrik Jönsson, Elliot M Meyerowitz
Publication date
2014/4/16
Journal
elife
Volume
3
Pages
e01967
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Description
Although it is a central question in biology, how cell shape controls intracellular dynamics largely remains an open question. Here, we show that the shape of Arabidopsis pavement cells creates a stress pattern that controls microtubule orientation, which then guides cell wall reinforcement. Live-imaging, combined with modeling of cell mechanics, shows that microtubules align along the maximal tensile stress direction within the cells, and atomic force microscopy demonstrates that this leads to reinforcement of the cell wall parallel to the microtubules. This feedback loop is regulated: cell-shape derived stresses could be overridden by imposed tissue level stresses, showing how competition between subcellular and supracellular cues control microtubule behavior. Furthermore, at the microtubule level, we identified an amplification mechanism in which mechanical stress promotes the microtubule response to stress by increasing severing activity. These multiscale feedbacks likely contribute to the robustness of microtubule behavior in plant epidermis.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01967.001
Total citations
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