Wasteneys, Geoffrey2015-12-130021-9533http://hdl.handle.net/1885/71239Plant microtubule arrays differ fundamentally from their animal, fungal and protistan counterparts. These differences largely reflect the requirements of plant composite polymer cell walls and probably also relate to the acquisition of chloroplasts. Plant microtubules are usually dispersed and lack conspicuous organizing centres. The key to understanding this dispersed nature is the identification of proteins that interact with and regulate the spatial and dynamic properties of microtubules. Over the past decade, a number of these proteins have been uncovered, including numerous kinesin-related proteins and a 65 kDa class of structural microtubule-associated proteins that appear to be unique to plants. Mutational analysis has identified MOR1, a probable stabilizer of microtubules that is a homologue of the TOGp-XMAP215 class of high-molecular-weight microtubule-associated proteins, and a katanin p60 subunit homologue implicated in the severing of microtubules. The identification of these two proteins provides new insights into the mechanisms controlling microtubule assembly and dynamics, particularly in the dispersed cortical array found in highly polarized plant cells.Keywords: kinesin; microtubule associated protein; polymer; protein kinase p60; protein subunit; article; cell composition; cell polarity; cell wall; chloroplast; controlled study; cytoarchitecture; microtubule assembly; microtubule organizing center; molecular dyn ?-Tubulin; Centrosome; Katanin; Microtubule-associated protein; Microtubule-organizing centre; MORI; Plant cell20022015-12-11