The guidance of axons during neuronal development is regulated by crosstalk between actin and microtubules in the growth cone, followed by stabilisation of microtubules and filopodia. Although a number of proteins have been identified as having a role in actin–microtubule crosstalk in neurons, the contribution of formins has remained unclear. Now (p. 2506), József Mihály and colleagues identify a role for the formin family protein Dishevelled-associated activator of morphogenesis (DAAM) in the coordination of actin and microtubule dynamics in neuronal growth cones in Drosophila. The authors show that DAAM colocalizes with both microtubule and F-actin cytoskeletal systems in axonal growth cones, and can crosslink the two systems in vitro. DAAM can stabilise microtubules both in vitro and in vivo, and, in its absence, neuronal microtubule organisation and dynamics are impaired. Furthermore, in addition to binding microtubules directly, DAAM can also bind to EB1, a microtubule plus-end-tracking protein (+TIP), and often localises to microtubule plus-ends. This paper provides important new insights into the mechanism by which DAAM functions to crosslink actin filaments with microtubules in neuronal growth cones.

• © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd