Author Response: Arabidopsis Formin 2 Regulates Cell-To-Cell Trafficking by Capping and Stabilizing Actin Filaments at Plasmodesmata
June 2018
TLDR Arabidopsis Formin 2 stabilizes actin filaments, affecting cell-to-cell movement and virus susceptibility.
The study explored the role of Arabidopsis Formin 2 (AtFH2) in cell-to-cell trafficking by stabilizing actin filaments at plasmodesmata. It was found that AtFH2 caps and stabilizes actin filaments, unlike AtFH1, affecting GFP movement and CMV infection susceptibility. Although the initial model suggesting AtFH2's role in anchoring F-actin at plasmodesmata was criticized for lack of support, the authors revised the manuscript to acknowledge visualization limitations and speculated on AtFH2's role in regulating plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum contact. The study highlighted actin filament stability's importance in plasmodesmata function, despite some unresolved experimental concerns. Additionally, the study noted that AtFH2's role in trafficking was not due to changes in intracellular trafficking, as evidenced by experiments with PD-FIM5, though these were confounded by functional differences.
