How reduced microtubule dynamics affect gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract Microtubules are an essential component of the plant cell, playing important roles in cell division and cellulose biosynthesis and deposition in the cell wall. They are a dynamic structure that changes their length and orientation based on external stimuli such as mechanical forces and abiotic stresses. The importance of microtubule dynamics in cell and organ growth and development is commonly assessed by studying mutants of the gene KATANIN, which encodes a microtubule-severing protein essential in organizing microtubule arrays. These mutants have been tremendously useful, allowing researchers to understand the contribution of KATANIN-mediated microtubule dynamics in various biological processes in different plant organs. However, how loss-of-function of KATANIN or reduced microtubule dynamics affects gene expression is still not yet properly investigated and reported. In this study, we analysed a transcriptomic dataset of wild-type and a katanin mutant to see the gene expression landscape in the mutant. We found that the mutation of KATANIN leads to a large-scale alteration in gene expression, with thousands of genes differentially expressed. Changes in gene expression of many genes help explain the key phenotypes observed in the mutant. This study offers new insights into this important mutant in plant science.