Fluorescently-labeled fimbrin decorates a dynamic actin filament network in live plant cells
2001
Kovar, D.R. | Gibbon, B.C. | McCurdy, D.W. | Staiger, C.J.
Recently it has been established, through a detailed biochemical analysis, that recombinant Arabidopsis thaliana fimbrin 1 (AtFim1) is a member of the fimbrin/plastin family of actin filament bundling or cross-linking proteins [D.R. Kovar et al. (2000) Plant J 24:625-636]. To determine whether AtFim1 can function as an F-actin-binding protein in the complex environment of the plant cell cytoplasm, we created a fluorescent protein analog and introduced it by micro-injection into live Tradescantia virginiana L. stamen hair cells. AtFim1 derivatized with Oregon Green 488 had biochemical properties similar to unlabeled fimbrin, including the K(d) value for binding to plant F-actin and the ability to cross-link filaments into higher-order structures. Fluorescent-fimbrin decorated an array of fine actin filaments in the cortical cytoplasm of stamen hair cells, which were shown with time-course studies to be highly dynamic. These data establish AtFim1 as a bona fide member of the fimbrin/plastin family, and represent the first use of a plant actin-binding protein as a powerful cytological tool for tracking the spatial and temporal redistribution of actin filaments in individual cells.
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