TY - CHAP AB - The analysis of dynamic cellular processes such as plant cytokinesis stands and falls with live-cell time-lapse confocal imaging. Conventional approaches to time-lapse imaging of cell division in Arabidopsis root tips are tedious and have low throughput. Here, we describe a protocol for long-term time-lapse simultaneous imaging of multiple root tips on a vertical-stage confocal microscope with automated root tracking. We also provide modifications of the basic protocol to implement this imaging method in the analysis of genetic, pharmacological or laser ablation wounding-mediated experimental manipulations. Our method dramatically improves the efficiency of cell division time-lapse imaging by increasing the throughput, while reducing the person-hour requirements of such experiments. AU - Hörmayer, Lukas AU - Friml, Jiří AU - Glanc, Matous ID - 10268 SN - 1064-3745 T2 - Plant Cell Division TI - Automated time-lapse imaging and manipulation of cell divisions in Arabidopsis roots by vertical-stage confocal microscopy VL - 2382 ER - TY - JOUR AB - Cell and tissue polarization is fundamental for plant growth and morphogenesis. The polar, cellular localization of Arabidopsis PIN‐FORMED (PIN) proteins is crucial for their function in directional auxin transport. The clustering of PIN polar cargoes within the plasma membrane has been proposed to be important for the maintenance of their polar distribution. However, the more detailed features of PIN clusters and the cellular requirements of cargo clustering remain unclear. Here, we characterized PIN clusters in detail by means of multiple advanced microscopy and quantification methods, such as 3D quantitative imaging or freeze‐fracture replica labeling. The size and aggregation types of PIN clusters were determined by electron microscopy at the nanometer level at different polar domains and at different developmental stages, revealing a strong preference for clustering at the polar domains. Pharmacological and genetic studies revealed that PIN clusters depend on phosphoinositol pathways, cytoskeletal structures and specific cell‐wall components as well as connections between the cell wall and the plasma membrane. This study identifies the role of different cellular processes and structures in polar cargo clustering and provides initial mechanistic insight into the maintenance of polarity in plants and other systems. AU - Li, Hongjiang AU - von Wangenheim, Daniel AU - Zhang, Xixi AU - Tan, Shutang AU - Darwish-Miranda, Nasser AU - Naramoto, Satoshi AU - Wabnik, Krzysztof T AU - de Rycke, Riet AU - Kaufmann, Walter AU - Gütl, Daniel J AU - Tejos, Ricardo AU - Grones, Peter AU - Ke, Meiyu AU - Chen, Xu AU - Dettmer, Jan AU - Friml, Jiří ID - 8582 IS - 1 JF - New Phytologist SN - 0028646X TI - Cellular requirements for PIN polar cargo clustering in Arabidopsis thaliana VL - 229 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The leaf is a crucial organ evolved with remarkable morphological diversity to maximize plant photosynthesis. The leaf shape is a key trait that affects photosynthesis, flowering rates, disease resistance, and yield. Although many genes regulating leaf development have been identified in the past years, the precise regulatory architecture underlying the generation of diverse leaf shapes remains to be elucidated. We used cotton as a reference model to probe the genetic framework underlying divergent leaf forms. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the GhARF16‐1 and GhKNOX2‐1 genes might be potential regulators of leaf shape. We functionally characterized the auxin‐responsive factor ARF16‐1 acting upstream of GhKNOX2‐1 to determine leaf morphology in cotton. The transcription of GhARF16‐1 was significantly higher in lobed‐leaved cotton than in smooth‐leaved cotton. Furthermore, the overexpression of GhARF16‐1 led to the upregulation of GhKNOX2‐1 and resulted in more and deeper serrations in cotton leaves, similar to the leaf shape of cotton plants overexpressing GhKNOX2‐1. We found that GhARF16‐1 specifically bound to the promoter of GhKNOX2‐1 to induce its expression. The heterologous expression of GhARF16‐1 and GhKNOX2‐1 in Arabidopsis led to lobed and curly leaves, and a genetic analysis revealed that GhKNOX2‐1 is epistatic to GhARF16‐1 in Arabidopsis, suggesting that the GhARF16‐1 and GhKNOX2‐1 interaction paradigm also functions to regulate leaf shape in Arabidopsis. To our knowledge, our results uncover a novel mechanism by which auxin, through the key component ARF16‐1 and its downstream‐activated gene KNOX2‐1, determines leaf morphology in eudicots. AU - He, P AU - Zhang, Yuzhou AU - Li, H AU - Fu, X AU - Shang, H AU - Zou, C AU - Friml, Jiří AU - Xiao, G ID - 8606 IS - 3 JF - Plant Biotechnology Journal SN - 1467-7644 TI - GhARF16-1 modulates leaf development by transcriptionally regulating the GhKNOX2-1 gene in cotton VL - 19 ER - TY - JOUR AB - The phytohormone auxin plays a central role in shaping plant growth and development. With decades of genetic and biochemical studies, numerous core molecular components and their networks, underlying auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signaling, have been identified. Notably, protein phosphorylation, catalyzed by kinases and oppositely hydrolyzed by phosphatases, has been emerging to be a crucial type of post-translational modification, regulating physiological and developmental auxin output at all levels. In this review, we comprehensively discuss earlier and recent advances in our understanding of genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology of the kinases and phosphatases participating in auxin action. We provide insights into the mechanisms by which reversible protein phosphorylation defines developmental auxin responses, discuss current challenges, and provide our perspectives on future directions involving the integration of the control of protein phosphorylation into the molecular auxin network. AU - Tan, Shutang AU - Luschnig, Christian AU - Friml, Jiří ID - 8992 IS - 1 JF - Molecular Plant SN - 16742052 TI - Pho-view of auxin: Reversible protein phosphorylation in auxin biosynthesis, transport and signaling VL - 14 ER - TY - JOUR AB - N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) is a key inhibitor of directional (polar) transport of the hormone auxin in plants. For decades, it has been a pivotal tool in elucidating the unique polar auxin transport-based processes underlying plant growth and development. Its exact mode of action has long been sought after and is still being debated, with prevailing mechanistic schemes describing only indirect connections between NPA and the main transporters responsible for directional transport, namely PIN auxin exporters. Here we present data supporting a model in which NPA associates with PINs in a more direct manner than hitherto postulated. We show that NPA inhibits PIN activity in a heterologous oocyte system and that expression of NPA-sensitive PINs in plant, yeast, and oocyte membranes leads to specific saturable NPA binding. We thus propose that PINs are a bona fide NPA target. This offers a straightforward molecular basis for NPA inhibition of PIN-dependent auxin transport and a logical parsimonious explanation for the known physiological effects of NPA on plant growth, as well as an alternative hypothesis to interpret past and future results. We also introduce PIN dimerization and describe an effect of NPA on this, suggesting that NPA binding could be exploited to gain insights into structural aspects of PINs related to their transport mechanism. AU - Abas, Lindy AU - Kolb, Martina AU - Stadlmann, Johannes AU - Janacek, Dorina P. AU - Lukic, Kristina AU - Schwechheimer, Claus AU - Sazanov, Leonid A AU - Mach, Lukas AU - Friml, Jiří AU - Hammes, Ulrich Z. ID - 8993 IS - 1 JF - PNAS SN - 00278424 TI - Naphthylphthalamic acid associates with and inhibits PIN auxin transporters VL - 118 ER -