Project description:Injured plant somatic tissues regenerate themselves by establishing the shoot or root meristems. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) a two-step culture system ensures regeneration by first promoting the acquisition of pluripotency and subsequently specifying the fate of new meristems. Although previous studies have reported the importance of phytohormones auxin and cytokinin in determining the fate of new meristems, it remains elusive whether and how the environmental factors influence this process. In this study, we investigated the impact of light signals on shoot regeneration using Arabidopsis hypocotyl as explants. We found that light signals promote shoot regeneration while inhibiting root formation. ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5), the pivotal transcriptional factor in light signaling, plays a central role in this process by mediating the expression of key genes controlling the fate of new meristems. Specifically, HY5 directly represses root development genes and activates shoot meristem genes, leading to the establishment of shoot progenitor from pluripotent callus. We further demonstrated that the early activation of photosynthesis is critical for shoot initiation, and this is transcriptionally regulated downstream of the HY5-dependent pathways. In conclusion, we uncovered the intricate molecular mechanisms by which light signals control the establishment of new meristem through the regulatory network governed by HY5, thus, highlighting the influence of light signals on plant developmental plasticity.
Project description:The establishement of the first plant tissues occurs during embryo development. Indeed, cell types that will form the Arabidopsis root stem cell niche are first specified during 16-cell (16C), early globular (EG) and late globular (LG) stage of embryonic development. While some regulatory factors are known, we do not yet understand the genetic networks underlying the specification of these cell types. One main reason for this is the difficulties in adapting genome-wide approaches to the cellular level. Here, we have adapted such an approach (INTACT) to generate microarray-based cell type-specific transcriptomic profiles at 16C to LG stage for use in determining the role of the transcriptome in cell specification and differentiation during root stem cell niche formation.
Project description:RNA silencing is a mechanism for regulating gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Its functions include regulating endogenous gene expression and protecting the cell against viruses and invading transposable elements (TEs). A key component of the mechanism is small RNAs (sRNAs) of 21-24 nucleotides (nt) in length, which direct the silencing machinery in a sequence specific manner to target nucleic acids. sRNAs of 24 nt are involved in methylation of cytosine residues of target loci in three sequence contexts (CG, CHG and CHH), referred to as RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). We previously demonstrated that 24 nt sRNAs are mobile from shoot to root in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study we demonstrated that methylation of thousands of loci in root tissues is dependent upon mobile sRNAs from the shoot. Furthermore, we found that mobile sRNA-dependent DNA methylation occurs predominantly in non-CG contexts. These findings were made using base-resolution next generation sequencing approaches and genome wide analyses. Specific classes of short TEs are the predominant targets of mobile sRNA-dependent DNA methylation; classes typically found in gene-rich euchromatic regions. Mobile sRNA-regulated genes were also identified. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that mobile sRNA-dependent non-CG methylation is largely independent of the CMT2/3 RdDM pathway but dependent upon the DRM1/DRM2 RdDM pathway. This is in contrast to non-mobile sRNA-dependent DNA methylation, which predominantly depends upon the CMT2/3 RdDM pathway. These data are complementary to the small RNA sequencing data from Arabidopsis root grafts described in Molnar et al (Science, 2010 May 14;328(5980):872-5).
Project description:Unlike most animal cells, plant cells can easily regenerate new tissues from a wide variety of organs when properly cultured. The common elements that provide varied plant cells with their remarkable regeneration ability are still largely unknown. Here we describe the initial process of Arabidopsis in vitro regeneration, where a pluripotent cell mass termed callus is induced. We demonstrate that callus resembles the tip of a root meristem, even if it is derived from aerial organs such as petals, which clearly shows that callus formation is not a simple reprogramming process backwards to an undifferentiated state as widely believed. Furthermore, callus formation in roots, cotyledons and petals is blocked in mutant plants incapable of lateral root initiation. It thus appears that the ectopic activation of a lateral root development program is a common mechanism in callus formation from multiple organs.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of root part comparing wild type with scl3 mutant and SCL3 OE. We used Affymetrix ATH1 microarrays to determine the effect of GRAS transcription factor SCL3 on growth and development of Arabidopsis root system by global transcriptome analysis and to identify new regulators in the regulatory pathway.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling in the root between ga1, ga1 scl3 and ga1 SCL3 OE. We used Affymetrix ATH1 microarrays to determine the effect of GRAS transcription factor SCL3 and gibberellin on the growth and development of the Arabidopsis root system by global transcriptome analysis and to identify new regulators in the regulatory pathway.
Project description:DELLA proteins act as hubs that relay environmental information to the multiple transcriptional circuits that control growth and development through physical interaction with transcription factors from different families. We have analyzed the presence of one DELLA protein at the Arabidopsis genome by chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to large-scale sequencing and we find that it binds at the promoters of multiple genes. Enrichment analysis shows a strong preference for cis elements recognized by specific transcription factor families. In particular, we demonstrate that DELLA proteins are recruited by type-B ARABIDOPSIS RESPONSE REGULATORS (ARR) to the promoters of cytokinin-regulated genes, where they act as transcriptional co-activators. The biological relevance of this mechanism is underpinned by the necessity of simultaneous presence of DELLAs and ARRs to restrict root meristem growth and to promote photomorphogenesis.