| While we established that cortical microtubules do in fact guide CESA complexes as they syntheizes the cellulosic component ofthe cell wall, we hypothezised that there may other functions for the cortical array in directing and regulating cell wall biosynthesis. The ability to visualize individal CESA complexes permitted us to track the trafficking and delivery of CESA to the plasma membrane. These studies revealed evidence for two new functions of the cortical microtubule array - targeting the positions of CESA delivery to the plasma membrane, and reversibly tethering trafficking compartments at the cell cortex during stress. The tethering mechanism allows for organelle motility driven by microtubule prolymertization dynamics and may be a part of the targeting mechanism during CESA delivery. |
