Intercellular movement of the putative transcription factor SHR in root patterning

Positional information is pivotal for establishing developmental patterning in plants, but little is known about the underlying signalling mechanisms. The Arabidopsis root radial pattern is generated through stereotyped division of initial cells and the subsequent acquisition of cell fate. short-roo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2001-09, Vol.413 (6853), p.307-311
Main Authors: Benfey, Philip N, Nakajima, Keiji, Sena, Giovanni, Nawy, Tal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arabidopsis
Arabidopsis - cytology
Arabidopsis Proteins
Biological and medical sciences
Cell Differentiation - physiology
Cells
Flowers & plants
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Glucuronidase - genetics
Humanities and Social Sciences
letter
Mode of action
multidisciplinary
Plant growth. Development of the storage organs
Plant physiology and development
Plant Roots - cytology
Plants, Genetically Modified
Protein Transport
Proteins
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
RNA, Plant - metabolism
SCARECROW gene
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
SHR protein
Signal Transduction
Transcription Factors - genetics
Transcription Factors - metabolism
Vegetative apparatus, growth and morphogenesis. Senescence
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Summary:Positional information is pivotal for establishing developmental patterning in plants, but little is known about the underlying signalling mechanisms. The Arabidopsis root radial pattern is generated through stereotyped division of initial cells and the subsequent acquisition of cell fate. short-root (shr) mutants do not undergo the longitudinal cell division of the cortex/endodermis initial daughter cell, resulting in a single cell layer with only cortex attributes. Thus, SHR is necessary for both cell division and endodermis specification. SHR messenger RNA is found exclusively in the stele cells internal to the endodermis and cortex, indicating that it has a non-cell-autonomous mode of action. Here we show that the SHR protein, a putative transcription factor, moves from the stele to a single layer of adjacent cells, where it enters the nucleus. Ectopic expression of SHR driven by the promoter of the downstream gene SCARECROW (SCR) results in autocatalytic reinforcement of SHR signalling, producing altered cell fates and multiplication of cell layers. These results support a model in which SHR protein acts both as a signal from the stele and as an activator of endodermal cell fate and SCR-mediated cell division.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/35095061