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近日，PLoS Genetics以封面文章發表了福建農林大學海峽聯合研究院林學中心林德書課題組題為「Spatio-temporal orientation of microtubules controls conical cell shape in Arabidopsis thaliana petals 」研究論文，證明了微管骨架的時空排列調控花瓣錐形細胞形態建成。
《PLoS Genetics》2017年第6期封面圖片
自然界中約80%被子植物的花器官中含有獨特錐形的花瓣表皮細胞。研究報導錐形細胞能為傳粉昆蟲提供支撐點、維持花瓣的溼度和表面溫度、和影響花瓣顏色等；然而，調控花瓣錐形細胞形態建成的分子遺傳機制還不清楚。花瓣錐形表皮細胞作為一種結構獨特的細胞形態，其研究至今還是一個被遺漏的領域。
花瓣錐形細胞形態觀察
該研究建立了擬南芥花瓣錐形細胞的活細胞成像技術體系。可用於定量統計錐形細胞形態和統計微管骨架的排列方式。通過遺傳突變體篩選和藥劑處理，證明了微管而非微絲在花瓣錐形細胞發育過程中起決定作用。活細胞成像技術揭示了微管骨架的時空排列調控花瓣錐形細胞形態建成。研究錐形細胞發育的分子機制，不僅對植物細胞生物學領域的研究產生影響，其潛在的應用價值在於將來希望通過改良蟲媒農林作物的花瓣錐形表面結構，增加吸引傳粉昆蟲（如蜜蜂）訪問和傳粉，實現提升品質和增加產量的目的。
Most flowering plants have special conical-shaped petal epidermal cells that are thought to influence light capture and reflectance, and provide pollinator grips, but the molecular mechanisms controlling conical cell shape remain largely unknown. Here, we developed a live-confocal imaging approach to quantify geometric parameters of conical cells in Arabidopsis thaliana (A.thaliana). Through genetic screens, we identified katanin (KTN1) mutants showing a phenotype of decreased tip sharpening of conical cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that SPIKE1 and Rho of Plants (ROP) GTPases were required for the final shape formation of conical cells, as KTN1 does. Live-cell imaging showed that wild-type cells exhibited random orientation of cortical microtubule arrays at early developmental stages but displayed a well-ordered circumferential orientation of microtubule arrays at later stages. By contrast, loss of KTN1 prevented random microtubule networks from shifting into well-ordered arrays. We further showed that the filamentous actin cap, which is a typical feature of several plant epidermal cell types including root hairs and leaf trichomes, was not observed in the growth apexes of conical cells during cell development. Moreover, our genetic and pharmacological data suggested that microtubules but not actin are required for conical cell shaping. Together, our results provide a novel imaging approach for studying petal conical cell morphogenesis and suggest that the spatio-temporal organization of microtubule arrays plays crucial roles in controlling conical cell shape.
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