PubMed · 2026-05-15
Researchers identified a three-part molecular switch in Arabidopsis that coordinates how dividing plant cells build the new wall between daughter cells, linking the delivery of membrane material to the machinery that physically organizes the division site.
A three-component module — the GTPase RAB-A2a, Class II Kinesin-12 motor proteins, and the kinase TIO — physically interact at the midzone during cell division in Arabidopsis.
Different members of the Class II Kinesin-12 family perform distinct roles at the leading versus lagging edges of the growing cell plate, revealing functional specialization within the same protein family.
Disrupting this module impairs both vesicle targeting to the division plane and phragmoplast remodeling, confirming that membrane trafficking and cytoskeletal reorganization are mechanistically coupled rather than parallel independent processes.
