Plant microtubule research: A short history

Abstract

Microtubules are hollow tubes composed of tubulin subunits. These ubiquitous structures are found in all eukaryotic cells. This short review describes the most important moments of plant microtubule research, which was important for understanding the microtubular cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells. Cytoplasmic microtubules were first described in plant cells. Similarly, the structure of eukaryotic flagellum consisting of microtubules was first studied in plant spermatic cells. Today, integration of the knowledge from various fields and organisms is proving beneficial in advancing microtubular cytoskeleton research.