The microtubules form specific patterns that determine the eventual shape of the cell and ultimately the shape of the plant, he explained. "If plant cells didn't have a particular shape, we wouldn ...

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 ...

Plant cortical microtubule arrays influence plant morphogenesis, but the nature of microtubule genesis and self-organization has long puzzled cell biologists. In this issue, Murata and coworkers ...

Their main role is to arrange the microtubules during cell division. Centrioles are found in animal cells but are not ...

They soon observed that some cells weren't dividing according to the "shortest wall rule," which normally governs plant cell division. While plant cells are expected to build the smallest – and ...

In the absence of NEK6, microtubules are crooked and plant cells cannot grow straight (Fig. 3). This study clearly demonstrates the novel regulatory mechanism of microtubule organization and ...

Unlocking long-hidden mechanisms of plant cell division Date: September 25, 2014 Source: University of Massachusetts at Amherst Summary: Along with copying and splitting DNA during division, cells ...

Researchers from Nara Institute of Science and Technology have found that an anchoring complex in plant cells recruits its own version of the katana sword for cutting microtubules. The Msd1-Wdr8 ...

Plant and animal stem cells both rely on the cytoskeleton to divide properly, ... ‘If any of you microtubules try to encroach on my region, I’m going to force you away.

Leaves are the primary plant organs responsible for photosynthesis. Their size, shape and angles — all affected by cell patterning and growth — can also expose more of their surface to the sun, ...

A study is offering new insights into a long-standing mystery about plant growth. Plant biologists were the first to witness the birth and growth of individual "microtubules" - nanosize tubes of ...