Abstract
It has been generally accepted that the motility of cellulose synthase on the plasma membrane is regulated by the cortical microtubules. However, the mechanism for the regulation is no known To solve this problem, we tried to synthesize polysaccharides using the plasma membrane vesicles (PMVs) isolated from tobacco BY-2 cells. As reported previously, the PMVs retained the cortical microtubules. In intact PMVs, synthesis of small amount of polysaccharides was detected by calcoflour staining. Synthesis of polysaccharides was highly enhanced when the CHAPS insoluble fraction was used. In electron microscopy, many fibrous structures associated with the cortical microtubules were observed. These results suggested association of glucan synthase with the cortical microtubules.
