The Preprophase Band and Division Site Determination in Land Plants

Abstract

In land plants, division plane is determined pre-mitotically, during the transition from G2 to M phase. A conspicuous spatial landmark of division plane determination is a narrow cortical band of microtubules, the preprophase band (PPB), a transient, premitotic array which precisely predicts the cortical region reached by the growing cell plate during cytokinesis. However, cells preparing for division exhibit a number of other cytological features contributing to division site establishment, such as nuclear migration, cytoplasmic modifications, and intra-cytoplasmic cytoskeleton reorganization. The spatial control of division plane is tightly linked to the temporal control of cell division by the cell cycle machinery. In this chapter, we review and discuss recently discovered cellular events and molecular partners potentially involved in division plane establishment and PPB function in land plants.