Auxin-cytokinin interaction regulates meristem development

Regulation of shoot and root development through mutual signaling

Plants adjust their development in relation to the availability of nutrient sources. This necessitates signaling between root and shoot. Aside from the well-known systemic signaling processes mediated by auxin, cytokinin, and sugars, new pathways involving carotenoid-derived hormones have recently been identified. The auxin-responsive MAX pathway controls shoot branching through the biosynthesis of strigolactone in the roots. The BYPASS1 gene affects the production of an as-yet unknown carotenoid-derived substance in roots that promotes shoot development. Novel local and systemic mechanisms that control adaptive root development in response to nitrogen and phosphorus starvation were recently discovered. Notably, the ability of the NITRATE TRANSPORTER 1.1 to transport auxin drew for the first time a functional link between auxin, root development, and nitrate availability in soil. The study of plant response to phosphorus starvation allowed the identification of a systemic mobile miRNA. Deciphering and integrating these signaling pathways at the whole-plant level provide a new perspective for understanding how plants regulate their development in response to environmental cues.

Design and synthesis of photolabile caged cytokinin

Cytokinins are phytohormones that regulate diverse developmental processes throughout the life of a plant. trans-Zeatin, kinetin, benzyladenine and dihydrozeatin are adenine-type cytokinins that are perceived by the AHK cytokinin receptors. Endogenous cytokinin levels are critical for regulating plant development. To manipulate intracellular cytokinin levels, caged cytokinins were designed on the basis of the crystal structure of the AHK4 cytokinin receptor. The caged cytokinin was photolyzed to release the cytokinin molecule inside the cells and induce cytokinin-responsive gene expression. The uncaging of intracellular caged cytokinins demonstrated that cytokinin-induced root growth inhibition can be manipulated with photo-irradiation. This caged cytokinin system could be a powerful tool for cytokinin biology.

Genetic approach towards the identification of auxin-cytokinin crosstalk components involved in root development

Phytohormones are important plant growth regulators that control many developmental processes, such as cell division, cell differentiation, organogenesis and morphogenesis. They regulate a multitude of apparently unrelated physiological processes, often with overlapping roles, and they mutually modulate their effects. These features imply important synergistic and antagonistic interactions between the various plant hormones. Auxin and cytokinin are central hormones involved in the regulation of plant growth and development, including processes determining root architecture, such as root pole establishment during early embryogenesis, root meristem maintenance and lateral root organogenesis. Thus, to control root development both pathways put special demands on the mechanisms that balance their activities and mediate their interactions. Here, we summarize recent knowledge on the role of auxin and cytokinin in the regulation of root architecture with special focus on lateral root organogenesis, discuss the latest findings on the molecular mechanisms of their interactions, and present forward genetic screen as a tool to identify novel molecular components of the auxin and cytokinin crosstalk.

Three Arabidopsis AIL/PLT genes act in combination to regulate shoot apical meristem function

The shoot apical meristem, a small dome-shaped structure at the shoot apex, is responsible for the initiation of all post-embryonic shoot organs. Pluripotent stem cells within the meristem replenish themselves and provide daughter cells that become incorporated into lateral organ primordia around the meristem periphery. We have identified three novel regulators of shoot apical meristem activity in Arabidopsis thaliana that encode related AIL/PLT transcription factors: AINTEGUMENTA (ANT), AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE6 (AIL6)/PLETHORA3 (PLT3) and AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE7 (AIL7)/PLETHORA7 (PLT7). Loss of these genes results in plants that initiate only a few leaves prior to termination of shoot apical meristem activity. In 7-day-old ant ail6 ail7 seedlings, we observed reduced cell division in the meristem region, differentiation of meristematic cells and altered expression of the meristem regulators WUSCHEL (WUS), CLAVATA3 (CLV3) and SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM). Genetic experiments suggest that these three AIL genes do not act specifically in either the WUS/CLV or STM pathway regulating meristem function. Furthermore, these studies indicate that ANT, AIL6 and AIL7 have distinct functions within the meristem rather than acting in a strictly redundant manner. Our study thus identifies three new genes whose distinct functions are together required for continuous shoot apical meristem function.

Cellular auxin homeostasis: gatekeeping is housekeeping

The phytohormone auxin is essential for plant development and contributes to nearly every aspect of the plant life cycle. The spatio-temporal distribution of auxin depends on a complex interplay between auxin metabolism and cell-to-cell auxin transport. Auxin metabolism and transport are both crucial for plant development; however, it largely remains to be seen how these processes are integrated to ensure defined cellular auxin levels or even gradients within tissues or organs. In this review, we provide a glance at very diverse topics of auxin biology, such as biosynthesis, conjugation, oxidation, and transport of auxin. This broad, but certainly superficial, overview highlights the mutual importance of auxin metabolism and transport. Moreover, it allows pinpointing how auxin metabolism and transport get integrated to jointly regulate cellular auxin homeostasis. Even though these processes have been so far only separately studied, we assume that the phytohormonal crosstalk integrates and coordinates auxin metabolism and transport. Besides the integrative power of the global hormone signaling, we additionally introduce the hypothetical concept considering auxin transport components as gatekeepers for auxin responses.

Reduced tillering in Basmati rice T-DNA insertional mutant OsTEF1 associates with differential expression of stress related genes and transcription factors

A T-DNA insertional mutant OsTEF1 of rice gives 60-80% reduced tillering, retarded growth of seminal roots, and sensitivity to salt stress compared to wild type Basmati 370. The insertion occurred in a gene encoding a transcription elongation factor homologous to yeast elf1, on chromosome 2 of rice. Detailed transcriptomic profiling of OsTEF1 revealed that mutation in the transcription elongation factor differentially regulates the expression of more than 100 genes with known function and finely regulates tillering process in rice by inducing the expression of cytochrome P450. Along with different transcription factors, several stress associated genes were also affected due to a single insertion. In silico analysis of the TEF1 protein showed high conservation among different organisms. This transcription elongation factor predicted to interact with other proteins that directly or indirectly positively regulate tillering in rice.

Cytokinin-induced root growth involves actin filament reorganization

Root architecture is developmentally plastic and affected by many intrinsic factors (e.g. plant hormones) and extrinsic factors (e.g. touch, gravity) in order to maximize nutrient and water acquisition. We have recently shown that asymmetrical exposure of cytokinin (CK) at the root tip causes root growth directional changes that is dependent on ethylene signaling and is potentiated by glucose signaling. Auxin homeostasis as maintained by auxin signaling and transport is also involved in CK-induced root cell elongation and differential growth. The signaling pathways eventually converge at actin filament organization since actin filament organization inhibitor latrunculin B (Lat B) can also induce similar growth. We, show that CK can actually alter actin filament organization as seen in actin binding protein 35S::GFP-ABD2-GFP transgenic lines as is also altered by auxin polar transport inhibitor 1-N-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) and Lat B in different manners.

Type-A response regulators are required for proper root apical meristem function through post-transcriptional regulation of PIN auxin efflux carriers

The phytohormones cytokinin and auxin regulate a diverse array of plant processes, often acting together to modulate growth and development. Although much has been learned with regard to how each of these hormones act individually, we are just beginning to understand how these signals interact to achieve an integrated response. Previous studies indicated that exogenous cytokinin has an effect on the transcription of several PIN efflux carriers. Here we show that disruption of type-A Arabidopsis response regulators (ARRs), which are negative regulators of cytokinin signalling, alters the levels of PIN proteins and results in increased sensitivity to N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid, an inhibitor of polar auxin transport. Disruption of eight of the 10 type-A ARR genes affects root development by altering the size of the apical meristem. Furthermore, we show that the effect of cytokinin on PIN abundance occurs primarily at the post-transcriptional level. Alterations of PIN levels in the type-A ARR mutants result in changes in the distribution of auxin in root tips as measured by a DR5::GFP reporter, and an altered pattern of cell division and differentiation in the stem cell niche in the root apical meristem. Together, these data indicate that cytokinin, acting through the type-A ARRs, alters the level of several PIN efflux carriers, and thus regulates the distribution of auxin within the root tip.

Regulation of meristem size by cytokinin signaling

The plant meristems possess unique features that involve maintaining the stem cell populations while providing cells for continued development. Although both the primary shoot apical meristem (SAM) and the root apical meristem (RAM) are specified during embryogenesis, post-embryonic tissue proliferation is required for their full establishment and maintenance throughout a plants' life. The phytohormone cytokinin (CK) interacts with other systemic signals and is a key regulator of meristem size and functions. The SAM and the RAM respond to CK stimulations in different manners: CK promotes tissue proliferation in the SAM through pathways dominated by homeobox transcription factors, including the class I KNOX genes, STIP, and WUS; and curiously, it favors proliferation at low levels and differentiation at a slightly higher concentration in the RAM instead. Here we review the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying CK actions in regulating meristematic tissue proliferation.

Comparison between conventional indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) and simplified icELISA for small molecules

A simplified indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) for small molecules was established by modifying the procedure of conventional icELISA. The key change was that the analyte, antibody, and enzyme-labeled second antibody in the simplified icELISA were added in one step, whereas in conventional icELISA these reagents were added in two separate steps. Three small chemicals, namely zeatin riboside, glycyrrhetinic acid, and chlorimuron-ethyl, were used to verify the new assay format and compare the results obtained from conventional icELISA and simplified icELISA. The results indicated that, under optimized conditions, the new assay offered several advantages over the conventional icELISA, which are simpler, less time consuming and higher sensitive although it requires more amount of reagents. The assay sensitivity (IC50) was improved for 1.2-1.4-fold. Four licorice roots samples were analyzed by conventional icELISA and simplified icELISA, as well as liquid chromatography (LC). There was no significant difference among the content obtained from the three methods for each sample. The correlation between data obtained from conventional icELISA and simplified icELISA analyses was 0.9888. The results suggest that the simplified icELISA be useful for high throughput screening of small molecules.