Quantitative analyses of the plant cytoskeleton reveal underlying organizational principles

TL;DR

This study uses a network-based imaging approach to quantitatively analyze plant cytoskeleton organization, revealing principles like efficiency and robustness that are shared with man-made transport networks.

Contribution

Introduces a novel network-driven imaging method to quantitatively analyze plant cytoskeleton organization and identifies underlying principles shared across biological and man-made networks.

Findings

Plant cytoskeletal networks have short path lengths and high robustness.

These organizational features are maintained during cytoskeletal re-arrangements.

Similar properties are found in man-made transportation networks.

Abstract

The actin and microtubule cytoskeletons are vital structures for cell growth and development across all species. While individual molecular mechanisms underpinning actin and microtubule dynamics have been intensively studied, principles that govern the cytoskeleton organization remain largely unexplored. Here, we captured biologically relevant characteristics of the plant cytoskeleton through a network-driven imaging-based approach allowing to quantitatively assess dynamic features of the cytoskeleton. By introducing suitable null models, we demonstrate that the plant cytoskeletal networks exhibit properties required for efficient transport, namely, short average path lengths and high robustness. We further show that these advantageous features are maintained during temporal cytoskeletal re-arrangements. Interestingly, man-made transportation networks exhibit similar properties, suggesting general laws of network organization supporting diverse transport processes. The proposed network-driven analysis can be readily used to identify organizational principles of cytoskeletons in other organisms.