Long-term single-cell imaging and simulations of microtubules reveal driving forces for wall pattering during proto-xylem development

Abstract

Plants are the tallest organisms on Earth; a feature sustained by solute-transporting xylem vessels in the plant vasculature. The xylem vessels are supported by strong cell walls that are assembled in intricate patterns. Cortical microtubules direct wall deposition and need to rapidly re-organize during xylem cell development. We established long-term live-cell imaging of single Arabidopsis cells undergoing proto-xylem trans-differentiation, resulting in spiral wall patterns, to investigate the microtubule re-organization. The initial disperse microtubule array rapidly readjusted into well-defined microtubule bands, which required local de-stabilization of individual microtubules in band-interspersing gap regions. Using extensive microtubule simulations, we could recapitulate the process in silico and found that local recruitment of microtubule-bound nucleation is critical for pattern formation, which we confirmed in vivo. Our simulations further indicated that the initial microtubule alignment impact microtubule band patterning. We confirmed this prediction using katanin mutants, which have microtubule organization defects, and uncovered active KATANIN recruitment to the forming microtubule bands. Our combination of quantitative microscopy and modelling outlines a framework towards a comprehensive understanding of microtubule re-organization during wall pattern formation.