Abstract
A group of microtubule (MT)-associated proteins, called plus end tracking proteins (+Tips), associates specifically with growing MT plus ends. Recently, several +Tips are discovered in plants, but the functions have not been well understood.
EB1 protein is a highly conserved member of +TIP family that plays a role in controlling plus-end dynamics and stabilizing MT. Arabidopsis have three EB1 homolog (AtEB1a, AtEB1b, and AtEB1c), but their functions are still unclear. To test the MT stability in eb1 null mutant plants, we treated Arabidopsis seedlings with MT- destabilizing drugs. The eb1c roots showed increased sensitivity to oryzalin at the cell division zone. GFP-tagged AtEB1a and AtEB1b decorated plus ends cortical MTs in transgenic Arabidopsis plants, but GFP-tagged AtEB1c was localized in the nucleus. These results show that AtEB1c has a distinct function related to cell division.
