MDF is a conserved splicing factor and modulates cell division and stress response in .

The coordination of cell division with stress response is essential for maintaining genome stability in plant meristems. Proteins involved in pre-mRNA splicing are important for these processes in animal and human cells. Based on its homology to the splicing factor SART1, which is implicated in the control of cell division and genome stability in human cells, we analyzed if MDF has similar functions in plants.

γ-Tubulin Complexes and Fibrillar Arrays: Two Conserved High Molecular Forms with Many Cellular Functions.

Higher plants represent a large group of eukaryotes where centrosomes are absent. The functions of γ-tubulin small complexes (γ-TuSCs) and γ-tubulin ring complexes (γ-TuRCs) in metazoans and fungi in microtubule nucleation are well established and the majority of components found in the complexes are present in plants. However, plant microtubules are also nucleated in a γ-tubulin-dependent but γ-TuRC-independent manner.

γ-Tubulin interacts with E2F transcription factors to regulate proliferation and endocycling in Arabidopsis.

γ-Tubulin is associated with microtubule nucleation, but evidence is accumulating in eukaryotes that it also functions in nuclear processes and in cell division control independently of its canonical role. We found that in Arabidopsis thaliana, γ-tubulin interacts specifically with E2FA, E2FB, and E2FC transcription factors both in vitro and in vivo. The interaction of γ-tubulin with the E2Fs is not reduced in the presence of their dimerization partners (DPs) and, in agreement, we found that γ-tubulin interaction with E2Fs does not require the dimerization domain.

Tubulin: Structure, Functions and Roles in Disease.

Highly conserved α- and β-tubulin heterodimers assemble into dynamic microtubules and perform multiple important cellular functions such as structural support, pathway for transport and force generation in cell division. Tubulin exists in different forms of isotypes expressed by specific genes with spatially- and temporally-regulated expression levels. Some tubulin isotypes are differentially expressed in normal and neoplastic cells, providing a basis for cancer chemotherapy drug development.

Microtubular and Nuclear Functions of γ-Tubulin: Are They LINCed?

γ-Tubulin is a conserved member of the tubulin superfamily with a function in microtubule nucleation. Proteins of γ-tubulin complexes serve as nucleation templates as well as a majority of other proteins contributing to centrosomal and non-centrosomal nucleation, conserved across eukaryotes. There is a growing amount of evidence of γ-tubulin functions besides microtubule nucleation in transcription, DNA damage response, chromatin remodeling, and on its interactions with tumor suppressors.