The ARP2/3 complex: giving plant cells a leading edge

The seven‐subunit ARP2/3 complex is an efficient modulator of the actin cytoskeleton with well‐recognized roles in amoeboid locomotion and subcellular motility of organelles and microbes. The recent identification of different subunit homologs suggests the existence of a functional ARP2/3 complex in higher plants. Mutations in some of the subunits have revealed a pivotal role for the complex in determining the shape of walled cells and focused attention on the interlinked processes of cortical‐actin organization, growth‐site selection, organelle motility and actin–microtubule interactions during plant cell morphogenesis. The findings supporting a global conservation of molecular mechanisms for membrane protrusion have been further strengthened by the identification of plant homologs of upstream regulators of the complex such as PIR121, NAP125 and HSPC300. As discussed here, the recent studies suggest that there might be hitherto unappreciated molecular and cell‐biological commonalities between protrusion mediated motility of animal cells and polarized, expansion‐mediated growth of plant cells. BioEssays 27:377–387, 2005. © 2005 Wiley periodicals, Inc.