Designing Genetically Encoded tools for Local Cytoskeletal Disruption in Plant Cells - Lightning Talk

F-actin is a critical component of the cytoskeleton, influencing polarity, shape, and organelle arrangement. Because of its many essential functions, investigating its precise roles in plant development is challenging. To overcome this, we are developing tools to target specific F-actin subpopulations within a cell using DeActs, genetically encoded actin-modifying polypeptides. Targeting DeActs to the nuclear envelope in Nicotiana benthamiana perturbed F-actin organization in an expression level-dependent manner. Our ongoing research is assessing the efficacy of cell-type expression of our constructs in Arabidopsis thaliana.