β-Cyclocitral is a conserved root growth regulator

Natural compounds capable of increasing root depth and branching are desirable tools for enhancing stress tolerance in crops. We devised a sensitized screen to identify natural metabolites capable of regulating root traits in Arabidopsis. β-Cyclocitral, an endogenous root compound, was found to prom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2019-05, Vol.116 (21), p.10563-10567
Main Authors: Dickinson, Alexandra J., Lehner, Kevin, Mi, Jianing, Jia, Kun-Peng, Mijar, Medhavinee, Dinneny, José, Al-Babili, Salim, Benfey, Philip N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aldehydes - pharmacology
Arabidopsis
Biological Sciences
Biosynthesis
Crop vigor
Crops
Diterpenes - pharmacology
Environmental stress
Growth regulators
Meristems
Metabolites
Mutants
Plant growth
Plant Growth Regulators - pharmacology
Plant Roots - drug effects
Plant Roots - growth & development
Reactive oxygen species
Sediment pollution
Soil contamination
Soil pollution
Tomatoes
Vigor
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Summary:Natural compounds capable of increasing root depth and branching are desirable tools for enhancing stress tolerance in crops. We devised a sensitized screen to identify natural metabolites capable of regulating root traits in Arabidopsis. β-Cyclocitral, an endogenous root compound, was found to promote cell divisions in root meristems and stimulate lateral root branching. β-Cyclocitral rescued meristematic cell divisions in ccd1ccd4 biosynthesis mutants, and β-cyclocitral–driven root growth was found to be independent of auxin, brassinosteroid, and reactive oxygen species signaling pathways. β-Cyclocitral had a conserved effect on root growth in tomato and rice and generated significantly more compact crown root systems in rice. Moreover, β-cyclocitral treatment enhanced plant vigor in rice plants exposed to salt-contaminated soil. These results indicate that β-cyclocitral is a broadly effective root growth promoter in both monocots and eudicots and could be a valuable tool to enhance crop vigor under environmental stress.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1821445116