Intercellular trafficking of transcription factors in the vascular tissue patterning

Regulatory networks controlling the development of the root system and the formation of lateral roots: a comparative analysis of the roles of pericycle and vascular cambium

Background

The production of a new lateral root from parental root primary tissues has been investigated extensively, and the most important regulatory mechanisms are now well known. A first regulatory mechanism is based on the synthesis of small peptides which interact ectopically with membrane receptors to elicit a modulation of transcription factor target genes. A second mechanism involves a complex cross-talk between plant hormones. It is known that lateral roots are formed even in parental root portions characterized by the presence of secondary tissues, but there is not yet agreement about the putative tissue source providing the cells competent to become founder cells of a new root primordium.

Scope

We suggest models of possible regulatory mechanisms for inducing specific root vascular cambium (VC) stem cells to abandon their activity in the production of xylem and phloem elements and to start instead the construction of a new lateral root primordium. Considering the ontogenic nature of the VC, the models which we suggest are the result of a comparative review of mechanisms known to control the activity of stem cells in the root apical meristem, procambium and VC. Stem cells in the root meristems can inherit various competences to play different roles, and their fate could be decided in response to cross-talk between endogenous and exogenous signals.

Conclusions

We have found a high degree of relatedness among the regulatory mechanisms controlling the various root meristems. This fact suggests that competence to form new lateral roots can be inherited by some stem cells of the VC lineage. This kind of competence could be represented by a sensitivity of specific stem cells to factors such as those presented in our models.

Characterization of a Genomic Region under Selection in Cultivated Carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) Reveals a Candidate Domestication Gene

Carrot is one of the most important vegetables worldwide, owing to its capability to develop fleshy, highly nutritious storage roots. It was domesticated ca. 1,100 years ago in Central Asia. No systematic knowledge about the molecular mechanisms involved in the domestication syndrome in carrot are available, however, the ability to form a storage root is undoubtedly the essential transition from the wild Daucus carota to the cultivated carrot. Here, we expand on the results of a previous study which identified a polymorphism showing a significant signature for selection upon domestication. We mapped the region under selection to the distal portion of the long arm of carrot chromosome 2, confirmed that it had been selected, as reflected in both the lower nucleotide diversity in the cultivated gene pool, as compared to the wild (π_w/π_c = 7.4 vs. 1.06 for the whole genome), and the high F_ST (0.52 vs. 0.12 for the whole genome). We delimited the region to ca. 37 kb in length and identified a candidate domestication syndrome gene carrying three non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms and one indel systematically differentiating the wild and the cultivated accessions. This gene, DcAHLc1, belongs to the AT-hook motif nuclear localized (AHL) family of plant regulatory genes which are involved in the regulation of organ development, including root tissue patterning. AHL genes work through direct interactions with other AHL family proteins and a range of other proteins that require intercellular protein movement. Based on QTL data on root thickening we speculate that DcAHLc1 might be involved in the development of the carrot storage root, as the localization of the gene overlapped with one of the QTLs. According to haplotype information we propose that the 'cultivated' variant of DcAHLc1 has been selected from wild Central Asian carrot populations upon domestication and it is highly predominant in the western cultivated carrot gene pool. However, some primitive eastern landraces and the derived B7262 purple inbred line still carry the 'wild' variant, reflecting a likely complexity of the genetic determination of the formation of carrot storage roots.

Integument cell differentiation in dandelions (Taraxacum, Asteraceae, Lactuceae) with special attention paid to plasmodesmata

The aim of the paper is to determine what happens with plasmodesmata when mucilage is secreted into the periplasmic space in plant cells. Ultrastructural analysis of the periendothelial zone mucilage cells was performed on examples of the ovule tissues of several sexual and apomictic Taraxacum species. The cytoplasm of the periendothelial zone cells was dense, filled by numerous organelles and profiles of rough endoplasmic reticulum and active Golgi dictyosomes with vesicles that contained fibrillar material. At the beginning of the differentiation process of the periendothelial zone, the cells were connected by primary plasmodesmata. However, during the differentiation and the thickening of the cell walls (mucilage deposition), the plasmodesmata become elongated and associated with cytoplasmic bridges. The cytoplasmic bridges may connect the protoplast to the plasmodesmata through the mucilage layers in order to maintain cell-to-cell communication during the differentiation of the periendothelial zone cells.