Unique Actin Microfilament Dynamics in Marchantia polymorpha

Abstract

Actin microfilaments are essential intracellular components for organelle movement, cell morphogenesis, and cytoplasmic streaming in plant cells. To examine organization and dynamics of actin microfilaments in an emerging model of basal plants, Marchantia polymorpha (liverwort), we visualized actin microfilaments using Lifeact-Venus. Lifeact is a 17-amino-acid actin binding peptide derived from Abp140p in budding yeast and was reported as a powerful tool to observe the dynamic state of actin microfilaments in mammalian cells. This new probe allowed us to observe dynamic myosin-dependent movement of actin bundles in M. polymorpha cells; sliding, bundling, and branching. We will also discuss advantages and disadvantages of this probe in application to plant studies.