TY - JOUR AB - Plants are continuously exposed to a myriad of external signals such as fluctuating nutrients availability, drought, heat, cold, high salinity, or pathogen/pest attacks that can severely affect their development, growth, and fertility. As sessile organisms, plants must therefore be able to sense and rapidly react to these external inputs, activate efficient responses, and adjust development to changing conditions. In recent years, significant progress has been made towards understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the intricate and complex communication between plants and the environment. It is now becoming increasingly evident that hormones have an important regulatory role in plant adaptation and defense mechanisms. AU - Benková, Eva ID - 1269 IS - 6 JF - Plant Molecular Biology TI - Plant hormones in interactions with the environment VL - 91 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Lateral root primordia (LRP) originate from pericycle stem cells located deep within parental root tissues. LRP emerge through overlying root tissues by inducing auxin-dependent cell separation and hydraulic changes in adjacent cells. The auxin-inducible auxin influx carrier LAX3 plays a key role concentrating this signal in cells overlying LRP. Delimiting LAX3 expression to two adjacent cell files overlying new LRP is crucial to ensure that auxin-regulated cell separation occurs solely along their shared walls. Multiscale modeling has predicted that this highly focused pattern of expression requires auxin to sequentially induce auxin efflux and influx carriers PIN3 and LAX3, respectively. Consistent with model predictions, we report that auxin-inducible LAX3 expression is regulated indirectly by AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 7 (ARF7). Yeast one-hybrid screens revealed that the LAX3 promoter is bound by the transcription factor LBD29, which is a direct target for regulation by ARF7. Disrupting auxin-inducible LBD29 expression or expressing an LBD29-SRDX transcriptional repressor phenocopied the lax3 mutant, resulting in delayed lateral root emergence. We conclude that sequential LBD29 and LAX3 induction by auxin is required to coordinate cell separation and organ emergence. AU - Porco, Silvana AU - Larrieu, Antoine AU - Du, Yujuan AU - Gaudinier, Allison AU - Goh, Tatsuaki AU - Swarup, Kamal AU - Swarup, Ranjan AU - Kuempers, Britta AU - Bishopp, Anthony AU - Lavenus, Julien AU - Casimiro, Ilda AU - Hill, Kristine AU - Benková, Eva AU - Fukaki, Hidehiro AU - Brady, Siobhan AU - Scheres, Ben AU - Peéet, Benjamin AU - Bennett, Malcolm ID - 1273 IS - 18 JF - Development TI - Lateral root emergence in Arabidopsis is dependent on transcription factor LBD29 regulation of auxin influx carrier LAX3 VL - 143 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Plants are able to modulate root growth and development to optimize their nitrogen nutrition. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the adaptive root response to nitrate (NO3 -) depends on the NRT1.1/NPF6.3 transporter/sensor. NRT1.1 represses emergence of lateral root primordia (LRPs) at low concentration or absence of NO3 - through its auxin transport activity that lowers auxin accumulation in LR. However, these functional data strongly contrast with the known transcriptional regulation of NRT1.1, which is markedly repressed in LRPs in the absence of NO3 -. To explain this discrepancy, we investigated in detail the spatiotemporal expression pattern of the NRT1.1 protein during LRP development and combined local transcript analysis with the use of transgenic lines expressing tagged NRT1.1 proteins. Our results show that although NO3 - stimulates NRT1.1 transcription and probably mRNA stability both in primary root tissues and in LRPs, it acts differentially on protein accumulation, depending on the tissues considered with stimulation in cortex and epidermis of the primary root and a strong repression in LRPs and to a lower extent at the primary root tip. This demonstrates that NRT1.1 is strongly regulated at the posttranscriptional level by tissue-specific mechanisms. These mechanisms are crucial for controlling the large palette of adaptive responses to NO3 - mediated by NRT1.1 as they ensure that the protein is present in the proper tissue under the specific conditions where it plays a signaling role in this particular tissue. AU - Bouguyon, Eléonore AU - Perrine Walker, Francine AU - Pervent, Marjorie AU - Rochette, Juliette AU - Cuesta, Candela AU - Benková, Eva AU - Martinière, Alexandre AU - Bach, Lien AU - Krouk, Gabriel AU - Gojon, Alain AU - Nacry, Philippe ID - 1281 IS - 2 JF - Plant Physiology TI - Nitrate controls root development through posttranscriptional regulation of the NRT1.1/NPF6.3 transporter sensor VL - 172 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The impact of the plant hormone ethylene on seedling development has long been recognized; however, its ecophysiological relevance is unexplored. Three recent studies demonstrate that ethylene is a critical endogenous integrator of various environmental signals including mechanical stress, light, and oxygen availability during seedling germination and growth through the soil. AU - Zhu, Qiang AU - Benková, Eva ID - 1283 IS - 10 JF - Trends in Plant Science TI - Seedlings’ strategy to overcome a soil barrier VL - 21 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Cytokinin is a phytohormone that is well known for its roles in numerous plant growth and developmental processes, yet it has also been linked to abiotic stress response in a less defined manner. Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Cytokinin Response Factor 6 (CRF6) is a cytokinin-responsive AP2/ERF-family transcription factor that, through the cytokinin signaling pathway, plays a key role in the inhibition of dark-induced senescence. CRF6 expression is also induced by oxidative stress, and here we show a novel function for CRF6 in relation to oxidative stress and identify downstream transcriptional targets of CRF6 that are repressed in response to oxidative stress. Analysis of transcriptomic changes in wild-type and crf6 mutant plants treated with H2O2 identified CRF6-dependent differentially expressed transcripts, many of which were repressed rather than induced. Moreover, many repressed genes also show decreased expression in 35S:CRF6 overexpressing plants. Together, these findings suggest that CRF6 functions largely as a transcriptional repressor. Interestingly, among the H2O2 repressed CRF6-dependent transcripts was a set of five genes associated with cytokinin processes: (signaling) ARR6, ARR9, ARR11, (biosynthesis) LOG7, and (transport) ABCG14. We have examined mutants of these cytokinin-associated target genes to reveal novel connections to oxidative stress. Further examination of CRF6-DNA interactions indicated that CRF6 may regulate its targets both directly and indirectly. Together, this shows that CRF6 functions during oxidative stress as a negative regulator to control this cytokinin-associated module of CRF6- dependent genes and establishes a novel connection between cytokinin and oxidative stress response. AU - Zwack, Paul AU - De Clercq, Inge AU - Howton, Timothy AU - Hallmark, H Tucker AU - Hurny, Andrej AU - Keshishian, Erika AU - Parish, Alyssa AU - Benková, Eva AU - Mukhtar, M Shahid AU - Van Breusegem, Frank AU - Rashotte, Aaron ID - 1331 IS - 2 JF - Plant Physiology SN - 0032-0889 TI - Cytokinin response factor 6 represses cytokinin-associated genes during oxidative stress VL - 172 ER - TY - JOUR AB - To sustain a lifelong ability to initiate organs, plants retain pools of undifferentiated cells with a preserved prolif eration capacity. The root pericycle represents a unique tissue with conditional meristematic activity, and its tight control determines initiation of lateral organs. Here we show that the meristematic activity of the pericycle is constrained by the interaction with the adjacent endodermis. Release of these restraints by elimination of endo dermal cells by single-cell ablation triggers the pericycle to re-enter the cell cycle. We found that endodermis removal substitutes for the phytohormone auxin-dependent initiation of the pericycle meristematic activity. However, auxin is indispensable to steer the cell division plane orientation of new organ-defining divisions. We propose a dual, spatiotemporally distinct role for auxin during lateral root initiation. In the endodermis, auxin releases constraints arising from cell-to-cell interactions that compromise the pericycle meristematic activity, whereas, in the pericycle, auxin defines the orientation of the cell division plane to initiate lateral roots. AU - Marhavy, Peter AU - Montesinos López, Juan C AU - Abuzeineh, Anas AU - Van Damme, Daniël AU - Vermeer, Joop AU - Duclercq, Jérôme AU - Rakusova, Hana AU - Marhavá, Petra AU - Friml, Jirí AU - Geldner, Niko AU - Benková, Eva ID - 1492 IS - 4 JF - Genes and Development TI - Targeted cell elimination reveals an auxin-guided biphasic mode of lateral root initiation VL - 30 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Synchronized tissue polarization during regeneration or de novo vascular tissue formation is a plant-specific example of intercellular communication and coordinated development. According to the canalization hypothesis, the plant hormone auxin serves as polarizing signal that mediates directional channel formation underlying the spatio-temporal vasculature patterning. A necessary part of canalization is a positive feedback between auxin signaling and polarity of the intercellular auxin flow. The cellular and molecular mechanisms of this process are still poorly understood, not the least, because of a lack of a suitable model system. We show that the main genetic model plant, Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) can be used to study the canalization during vascular cambium regeneration and new vasculature formation. We monitored localized auxin responses, directional auxin-transport channels formation, and establishment of new vascular cambium polarity during regenerative processes after stem wounding. The increased auxin response above and around the wound preceded the formation of PIN1 auxin transporter-marked channels from the primarily homogenous tissue and the transient, gradual changes in PIN1 localization preceded the polarity of newly formed vascular tissue. Thus, Arabidopsis is a useful model for studies of coordinated tissue polarization and vasculature formation after wounding allowing for genetic and mechanistic dissection of the canalization hypothesis. AU - Mazur, Ewa AU - Benková, Eva AU - Friml, Jirí ID - 1274 JF - Scientific Reports TI - Vascular cambium regeneration and vessel formation in wounded inflorescence stems of Arabidopsis VL - 6 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Plant sexual reproduction involves highly structured and specialized organs: stamens (male) and gynoecia (female, containing ovules). These organs synchronously develop within protective flower buds, until anthesis, via tightly coordinated mechanisms that are essential for effective fertilization and production of viable seeds. The phytohormone auxin is one of the key endogenous signalling molecules controlling initiation and development of these, and other, plant organs. In particular, its uneven distribution, resulting from tightly controlled production, metabolism and directional transport, is an important morphogenic factor. In this review we discuss how developmentally controlled and localized auxin biosynthesis and transport contribute to the coordinated development of plants' reproductive organs, and their fertilized derivatives (embryos) via the regulation of auxin levels and distribution within and around them. Current understanding of the links between de novo local auxin biosynthesis, auxin transport and/or signalling is presented to highlight the importance of the non-cell autonomous action of auxin production on development and morphogenesis of reproductive organs and embryos. An overview of transcription factor families, which spatiotemporally define local auxin production by controlling key auxin biosynthetic enzymes, is also presented. AU - Robert, Hélène AU - Crhák Khaitová, Lucie AU - Mroue, Souad AU - Benková, Eva ID - 1540 IS - 16 JF - Journal of Experimental Botany TI - The importance of localized auxin production for morphogenesis of reproductive organs and embryos in Arabidopsis VL - 66 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Multiple plant developmental processes, such as lateral root development, depend on auxin distribution patterns that are in part generated by the PIN-formed family of auxin-efflux transporters. Here we propose that AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR7 (ARF7) and the ARF7-regulated FOUR LIPS/MYB124 (FLP) transcription factors jointly form a coherent feed-forward motif that mediates the auxin-responsive PIN3 transcription in planta to steer the early steps of lateral root formation. This regulatory mechanism might endow the PIN3 circuitry with a temporal 'memory' of auxin stimuli, potentially maintaining and enhancing the robustness of the auxin flux directionality during lateral root development. The cooperative action between canonical auxin signalling and other transcription factors might constitute a general mechanism by which transcriptional auxin-sensitivity can be regulated at a tissue-specific level. AU - Chen, Qian AU - Liu, Yang AU - Maere, Steven AU - Lee, Eunkyoung AU - Van Isterdael, Gert AU - Xie, Zidian AU - Xuan, Wei AU - Lucas, Jessica AU - Vassileva, Valya AU - Kitakura, Saeko AU - Marhavy, Peter AU - Wabnik, Krzysztof T AU - Geldner, Niko AU - Benková, Eva AU - Le, Jie AU - Fukaki, Hidehiro AU - Grotewold, Erich AU - Li, Chuanyou AU - Friml, Jirí AU - Sack, Fred AU - Beeckman, Tom AU - Vanneste, Steffen ID - 1574 JF - Nature Communications TI - A coherent transcriptional feed-forward motif model for mediating auxin-sensitive PIN3 expression during lateral root development VL - 6 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Plants are sessile organisms that are permanently restricted to their site of germination. To compensate for their lack of mobility, plants evolved unique mechanisms enabling them to rapidly react to ever changing environmental conditions and flexibly adapt their postembryonic developmental program. A prominent demonstration of this developmental plasticity is their ability to bend organs in order to reach the position most optimal for growth and utilization of light, nutrients, and other resources. Shortly after germination, dicotyledonous seedlings form a bended structure, the so-called apical hook, to protect the delicate shoot meristem and cotyledons from damage when penetrating through the soil. Upon perception of a light stimulus, the apical hook rapidly opens and the photomorphogenic developmental program is activated. After germination, plant organs are able to align their growth with the light source and adopt the most favorable orientation through bending, in a process named phototropism. On the other hand, when roots and shoots are diverted from their upright orientation, they immediately detect a change in the gravity vector and bend to maintain a vertical growth direction. Noteworthy, despite the diversity of external stimuli perceived by different plant organs, all plant tropic movements share a common mechanistic basis: differential cell growth. In our review, we will discuss the molecular principles underlying various tropic responses with the focus on mechanisms mediating the perception of external signals, transduction cascades and downstream responses that regulate differential cell growth and consequently, organ bending. In particular, we highlight common and specific features of regulatory pathways in control of the bending of organs and a role for the plant hormone auxin as a key regulatory component. AU - Žádníková, Petra AU - Smet, Dajo AU - Zhu, Qiang AU - Van Der Straeten, Dominique AU - Benková, Eva ID - 1593 IS - 4 JF - Frontiers in Plant Science TI - Strategies of seedlings to overcome their sessile nature: Auxin in mobility control VL - 6 ER -