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A Strategy to Validate the Role of Callose-mediated Plasmodesmal Gating in the Tropic Response
Published on: April 17, 2016
Soluble carbohydrates regulate auxin biosynthesis via PIF proteins in Arabidopsis
Ilkka Sairanen1, Ondřej Novák, Aleš Pěnčík
1Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-901 83 Umea, Sweden.
Abstract:
Plants are necessarily highly competitive and have finely tuned mechanisms to adjust growth and development in accordance with opportunities and limitations in their environment. Sugars from photosynthesis form an integral part of this growth control process, acting as both an energy source and as signaling molecules in areas targeted for growth. The plant hormone auxin similarly functions as a signaling molecule and a driver of growth and developmental processes. Here, we show that not only do the two act in concert but that auxin metabolism is itself regulated by the availability of free sugars. The regulation of the biosynthesis and degradation of the main auxin, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), by sugars requires changes in the expression of multiple genes and metabolites linked to several IAA biosynthetic pathways. The induction also involves members of the recently described central regulator PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR transcription factor family. Linking these three known regulators of growth provides a model for the dynamic coordination of responses to a changing environment.
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