Abstract
Cytoskeleton plays a crucial role in plant development and morphogenesis. Gametophyte cells of the moss Physcomitrella patens are an excellent model to study dynamics of cytoskeleton because gametophytes have simpler structures than sporophyte tissue in other plants. Further, we can make stable transformants with an appropriate construct in a given locus by homologous recombination. In this study, we made reporter constructs by fusing a GFP with P. patens a-tubulin or an actin binding domain of mouse talin, which are expressed under the control of rice actin promoter to visualize microtubules and actin filaments. The Pphb7 gene, a member of HD-Zip gene family, was used as a target locus because its expression is limited to rhizoids and no phenotype was detected in any tissues except for rhizoids. Using the stable lines, we report the dynamics of microtubules and actin filaments in the processes of cell division, cell elongation, and chloroplast movement.
