Various cellular processes underlying plant development and response to environmental cues rely on a dynamic interplay between membranes and the cytoskeleton, e.g. vesicle and organelle trafficking, endocytosis, exocytosis, and signal transduction. In recent years, significant progress in the understanding of such interplay has been achieved and several critical links between membranes and the cytoskeleton have been characterized. As an example, recent work has clarified how auxin promotes the reorganization of cortical actin filaments by the activation of Rho GTPase pathways, and how such reorganization in turn locally modifies endocytosis and/or exocytosis and directs asymmetric distribution of PIN family of auxin transporters. Another recent achievement is the characterization of the Rho- and microtubule-driven mechanism by which the cell wall architecture is established. In particular, the elegant work by Oda and Fukuda (Science 337 p.1333, 2012) provides evidence that secondary wall patterning in xylem vessel primarily relies on two processes: a local activation of the plant Rho GTPase ROP11 and a mutual, MIDD1-mediated, inhibitory interaction between active ROP domains and cortical microtubules. Additional examples include recent genetic evidence that microtubule and actin filament interacting/regulatory proteins, such as MAP65-1 and capping protein, function as transducers of membrane lipid signaling into changes in cytoskeleton dynamics and organization. This Research Topic aims at collecting a comprehensive set of articles dealing with cellular processes involving membrane-cytoskeleton interactions. Its scope extends beyond the specific fields defined by the above examples and includes intracellular trafficking, host-pathogen interactions, response to biotic and abiotic stresses and hormonal regulation of growth. We hope that this Research Topic will also highlight critical questions that need to be addressed in the future. We welcomed Original Research Articles, Technical/Methodological Advances (e.g. analysis of cytoskeleton dynamics close to membranes), Reviews and Mini Reviews that can expand our understanding of how and why membranes and the cytoskeleton interact.

This book focuses on the plant cytoskeleton and its various cross-talks with other cellular components leading to its role in plant growth and development. It not only allows the geometric and signaling dimensions of cells, but is also very important in physiological processes. The book discusses the recent studies showing the role of actin and microtubule cytoskeleton interactions in cell-wall assembly and dynamics. The authors examine the role of both microtubules in the mechanics of plant cells, and actin filaments in the motility of chloroplasts. Based on recent advances in the study of the acto-myosin complex using high-resolution microscopy, they propose a new model for intracellular transport in plants. Exploring an almost-forgotten field of bioelectricity in the context of the cytoskeleton, the book highlights connections between the dynamic actin filaments and the bioelectricity of membranes and demonstrates that the plant cytoskeleton is involved in the distribution of plant hormones. Lastly, it addresses the role of endomembrane -cytoskeleton interactions to show the importance of the cytoskeleton in organelle morphogenesis and cellular functions. Studies in various plant models have shown how the actin filament and microtubules control and coordinate plant cell growth and development. This book summarizes the mechanisms underlying these functions.

The cytoskeleton is a highly dynamic intracellular platform constituted by a three-dimensional network of proteins responsible for key cellular roles as structure and shape, cell growth and development, and offering to the cell with "motility" that being the ability of the entire cell to move and for material to be moved within the cell in a regulated fashion (vesicle trafficking). The present edition of Cytoskeleton provides new insights into the structure-functional features, dynamics, and cytoskeleton's relationship to diseases. The authors' contribution in this book will be of substantial importance to a wide audience such as clinicians, researches, educators, and students interested in getting updated knowledge about molecular basis of cytoskeleton, such as regulation of cell vital processes by actin-binding proteins as cell morphogenesis, motility, their implications in cell signaling, as well as strategies for clinical trial and alternative therapies based in multitargeting molecules to tackle diseases, that is, cancer.

Actin is one of the most abundant proteins and ubiquitously expressed in all eukaryotes. In recent years, the analysis of structure and function of such complexes has shed new light on actin's role in cellular and tissue morphogenesis, locomotion and various forms of intracellular motility, but also on its role in nuclear processes like chromatin architecture and transcription. Progress in understanding these different physiological phenomena, but also in unravelling the basis of actin-based pathophysiological processes has been made by combining video microscopy, molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry. Thus, the current research on actin, as ongoing in many international laboratories, is a "hot spot" in basic and translational research in life sciences. In this book on "The Actin Cytoskeleton", twelve internationally renowned authors present specific chapters that cover their recent work concerned with the various roles of actin mentioned above. This comprehensive volume is therefore an attractive handbook for teachers and students in many fields of medicine and pharmacology.

This Special Issue of IJMS covers a broad range of cutting-edge aspects related to the organization, function, and role in disease of the actin cytoskeleton. This cellular structure is of fundamental importance for the homeostasis of every eukaryotic cell, from the simplest unicellular organism to the most complex animal cell. The actin cytoskeleton contributes to developing and maintaining cell shape and tissue integrity and is crucial for cell migration, movement of organelles, vesicle trafficking, and the completion of cell division. Elaborate structures like the sarcomere, the inner ear cell stereocilia, and the brush border microvilli are built on actin filament scaffolds. Dozens of actin-binding proteins orchestrate the dynamic remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton and integrate it with microtubules and intermediate filaments and with the cell signaling machinery. Playing such fundamental roles in a plethora of cellular processes, it comes as no surprise that defects in actin and associated proteins have been found to be implicated in pathological conditions as diverse as myopathies and neurodegenerative diseases. This Special Issue gathers 15 contributions highlighting the impressive advances made in recent years in this exciting field.