H+- and Na+- elicited rapid changes of the microtubule cytoskeleton in the biflagellated green alga Chlamydomonas
- Marquette University, United States
- Texas A&M University, United States
- University of Georgia, United States
Abstract
Although microtubules are known for dynamic instability, the dynamicity is considered to be tightly controlled to support a variety of cellular processes. Yet diverse evidence suggests that this is not applicable to Chlamydomonas, a biflagellate fresh water green alga, but intense autofluorescence from photosynthesis pigments has hindered the investigation. By expressing a bright fluorescent reporter protein at the endogenous level, we demonstrate in real time discreet sweeping changes in algal microtubules elicited by rises of intracellular H+ and Na+. These results from this model organism with characteristics of animal and plant cells provide novel explanations regarding how pH may drive cellular processes; how plants may respond to, and perhaps sense stresses; and how organisms with a similar sensitive cytoskeleton may be susceptible to environmental changes.
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Funding
Marquette University (Start up)
- Pinfen Yang
National Institute of Health (GM110413)
- Karl F Lechtreck
Marquette University (RCM Growth Incentive Fund)
- Pinfen Yang
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2017, Liu et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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H+- and Na+- elicited rapid changes of the microtubule cytoskeleton in the biflagellated green alga Chlamydomonas
eLife 6:e26002.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.26002
