| Summary: | Actin cytoskeleton is highly dynamic structure, constantly remodelled by processes of polyme- rization, depolymerization, bundling, cutting and branching. One of the factors which control the polymerization of actin is ARP2/3, heteroheptameric protein complex evolutionary conserved in almost all eukaryotes. Subunits ARP2 and ARP3 are structurally similar to actin monomers and forms nucleation core for new actin filament formation within the complex. ARP2/3 can also bind to already existing actin filament and form a new branch at the angle of 70 ř. In animal cells, ARP2/3 complex is crucial for cell motility through formation of lamellipodia and mutations in its subunits are usually lethal. In plants, only mild changes in trichomes and epidermal cells shape were observed. ARP2/3 complex is thus considered to play a role in plant cell morphogenesis through modulation of actin cytoskeleton. Despite the long-term research on plant ARP2/3 com- plex, only sparse information is available about its localization in plant cells. To understand the role of ARP2/3 complex in plant cells, we have transformed both wild type Arabidopsis thaliana plants and mutant plants lacking subunits of the complex with GFP-fused subunits. GFP-ARPC2 and GFP-ARPC5 fusion proteins complemented the distorted trichomes phenotype of...
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