Plants withstand salt with a mechanism that resembles the action of mammalian Tau protein
CC1 is an indispensable protein for plants to grow on salty lands. A study in “Nature Communications” by Christopher Kesten and Arndt Wallmann sheds light on its mechanism that resembles the action of the mammalian Tau protein, which plays a central role in the development of Alzheimer’s diseas
Companion of Cellulose Synthase 1 (CC1) enables plants to withstand salt stress, a threat that nowadays compromises global agricultural productivity. An international study in “Nature Communications” led by ETH scientist Christopher Kesten from the Sanchez-Rodriguez group (PCB) and Arndt Wallmann from the FMP Berlin now uncovered the mechanism of CC1 activity. The intrinsically disordered protein binds microtubules, which form a dense cytoskeleton underneath the plasma membrane of plants, and orchestrates their re-organization once a cell is exposed to salt stress. CC1 is comprised of four, hydrophobic microtubule binding motifs that are connected by flexible, hydrophilic linker regions. Interestingly, the microtubule interaction resembles the mode of action of the prominent, neuropathology related protein Tau, a major player in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Link to the publication in external page Nature Communications.