Abstract
The plant cytoskeleton is composed of two structural elements known as microfilaments and microtubules. Microtubules are 24-nm-diameter hollow fibers constructed from α/β heterodimers of the protein tubulin. Microfilaments (or F-actin) are 5–7-nm-diameter homopolymers of 42 kD actin subunits. These two cytoskeletal components play a major role in a wide variety of cellular processes. For example, cytoplasmic streaming is driven by the mechanochemical enzyme myosin moving along actin microfilaments. The complex events of mitosis, including chromosome segregation and cell plate deposition, utilize two poorly understood microtubule-based structures, the spindle and phragmoplast. Intracellular positioning of nuclei and certain organelles is also dependent on microtubules and microfilaments. For a more detailed analysis of cytoskeletal function, the reader is referred to several excellent reviews and a monograph on this topic (Baskin and Cande 1990; Seagull 1989; Lloyd 1987, 1991).
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© 1994 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
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Staiger, C.J. (1994). Indirect Immunofluoreseence: Localization of the Cytoskeleton. In: Freeling, M., Walbot, V. (eds) The Maize Handbook. Springer Lab Manuals. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2694-9_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2694-9_15
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