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The role of intrinsic disorder in binding of plant microtubule-associated proteins to the cytoskeleton.

Jordy Perez GonzalezKristian E H FrandsenChristopher Kesten
Published in: Cytoskeleton (Hoboken, N.J.) (2023)
Microtubules (MTs) represent one of the main components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton and support numerous critical cellular functions. MTs are in principle tube-like structures that can grow and shrink in a highly dynamic manner; a process largely controlled by microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). Plant MAPs are a phylogenetically diverse group of proteins that nonetheless share many common biophysical characteristics and often contain large stretches of intrinsic protein disorder. These intrinsically disordered regions are determinants of many MAP-MT interactions, in which structural flexibility enables low-affinity protein-protein interactions that enable a fine-tuned regulation of MT cytoskeleton dynamics. Notably, intrinsic disorder is one of the major obstacles in functional and structural studies of MAPs and represents the principal present-day challenge to decipher how MAPs interact with MTs. Here, we review plant MAPs from an intrinsic protein disorder perspective, by providing a complete and up-to-date summary of all currently known members, and address the current and future challenges in functional and structural characterization of MAPs.
Keyphrases
  • binding protein
  • high resolution
  • protein protein
  • amino acid
  • cell wall
  • plant growth