Decision Letter: Arabidopsis Formin 2 Regulates Cell-To-Cell Trafficking by Capping and Stabilizing Actin Filaments at Plasmodesmata
April 2018
Studysummary This study found that the Arabidopsis thaliana protein Formin 2 localizes to plasmodesmata and is crucial for regulating their permeability by anchoring actin filaments, which affects virus susceptibility. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The study explored the role of Arabidopsis Formin 2 (AtFH2) in cell-to-cell trafficking by stabilizing actin filaments at plasmodesmata. It was discovered that AtFH2 caps and stabilizes these filaments, and its absence led to filament instability, impacting trafficking. The introduction of a PD-targeting actin filament stabilizer, PD-FIM5, into atfh2 mutants mitigated the trafficking issues, highlighting the importance of actin filament stability at plasmodesmata. The study also clarified that AtFH1 and AtFH2 were only partially redundant and addressed methodological concerns, including the use of controls and statistical tests.
