The Arabidopsis MAP65s are a protein family with similarity to the microtubule-associated proteins PRC1/Ase1p that accumulate in the spindle midzone during late anaphase in mammals and yeast, respectively. Here we investigate the molecular and functional properties of AtMAP65-5 and improve our understanding of AtMAP65-1 properties. We demonstrate that, in vitro, both proteins promote the formation of a planar network of antiparallel microtubules. In vivo, we show that AtMAP65-5 selectively binds the preprophase band and the prophase spindle microtubule during prophase, whereas AtMAP65-1-GFP selectively binds the preprophase band but does not accumulate at the prophase spindle microtubules that coexists within the same cell. At later stages of mitosis, AtMAP65-1 and AtMAP65-5 differentially label the late spindle and phragmoplast. We present evidence for a mode of action for both proteins that involves the binding of monomeric units to microtubules that "zipper up" antiparallel arranged microtubules through the homodimerization of the N-terminal halves when adjacent microtubules encounter. INTRODUCTIONIn higher plant cells, interphase microtubules occur predominantly at the cell cortex as ordered bundles in close association with the plasma membrane. These so-called cortical microtubules (CMTs) play crucial roles in cell morphogenesis (Wasteneys and Fujita, 2006). In rapidly elongating cells, CMTs are linear bundles that are usually transversely oriented relative to the longest cell axis. When cell expansion slows down, the transverse organization is lost and CMTs become oblique (Lloyd, 1994;Dixit and Cyr, 2004). CMTs are highly dynamic and show higher (de)-polymerization rates than interphase mammalian microtubules (Shaw et al., 2003;Dixit et al., 2006). In contrast to animal and yeast microtubules (MTs), CMTs do not emanate from a well-defined nucleating center. Instead, the MT nucleation activity in interphase plant cells mostly occurs at dispersed sites along pre-existing MTs at the cell's cortex (Murata et al., 2005) in a ␥-tubulin-dependent manner (Pastuglia et al., 2006). This MT-dependent nucleation results in branching patterns of CMTs (Murata et al., 2005) that are subsequently resolved into coaligned CMTs. After nucleation, the majority of the MTs are released from their nucleation site, move in the cell cortex by a hybrid treadmilling mechanism leading to polymer interactions (Shaw et al., 2003), and are incorporated into bundles (Dixit and Cyr, 2004). Significantly, the CMT bundles are not anchored and consequently both MT ends are dynamic. Thus, the ordered patterns of CMT arrays are not correlated with the patterns of the CMT nucleation sites (Dixit et al., 2006) and depend on a yet-to-be-discovered mechanism.To accommodate for the transverse network observed in expanding cells, CMTs form bundles. How these bundles are organized is not clear, and for instance, the polarity of CMTs within bundles is not yet solved. Using an in vitro model that provides good access to the cortex combined with the hoo...

Temporal and spatial assembly of microtubules in plant cells depends mainly on the activity of microtubule-interacting proteins, which either stabilize, destabilize or translocate microtubules. Recent data have revealed that the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) contains a protein related to the p60 catalytic subunit of animal katanin, a microtubule-severing protein. However, effects of the plant p60 on microtubule assembly are not known. We report the first functional evidence that the recombinant A. thaliana p60 katanin subunit, Atp60, binds to microtubules and severs them in an ATP-dependent manner in vitro. ATPase activity of Atp60 is stimulated by low tubulin/katanin ratios, and is inhibited at higher ratios. Considering its properties in vitro, several functions of Atp60 in vivo are discussed.