Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 8, 2025
10:40
Visualizing Lignification Dynamics in Plants with Click Chemistry: Dual Labeling is BLISS!
Published on: January 26, 2018
12.2K
Two chemically distinct root lignin barriers control solute and water balance
Guilhem Reyt1, Priya Ramakrishna1,2, Isai Salas-González3
1Future Food Beacon of Excellence & School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK.
Nature Communications
|April 20, 2021
Summary
Plant roots use lignin to form a barrier in endodermal cells. Sensing defects triggers compensatory lignin, impacting nutrient homeostasis and growth.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Cellular biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Lignin is a complex polymer crucial for plant cell wall structure and function.
- In plant roots, the Casparian strip, a lignin band in endodermal cells, forms a vital diffusion barrier for nutrient homeostasis.
- A signaling pathway monitors this barrier's integrity and can induce additional lignin deposition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the molecular mechanisms and consequences of activating the endodermal sensing pathway for lignin deposition.
- To characterize the chemical nature of compensatory lignin.
- To determine the impact of complete loss of endodermal lignification on plant physiology.
Main Methods:
- Transcriptional analysis to identify activated pathways.
- Lignin chemical characterization.
- Phenotypic analysis of plants with altered endodermal lignification.
Main Results:
- Activation of the endodermal sensing mechanism induces significant transcriptional reprogramming, notably upregulating the phenylpropanoid pathway and immune signaling.
- This response leads to the deposition of compensatory lignin, which is chemically distinct from the Casparian strip lignin.
- Complete absence of endodermal lignification severely disrupts mineral nutrient homeostasis and impairs overall plant growth.
Conclusions:
- The endodermal sensing pathway orchestrates a complex transcriptional response to maintain barrier function through lignin deposition.
- Compensatory lignin differs chemically from the primary Casparian strip, highlighting dynamic regulation of lignin biosynthesis.
- Endodermal lignification is essential for maintaining nutrient balance and supporting healthy plant development.
Related Concept Videos
02:34Water and Mineral Acquisition
34.3K
Specialized tissues in plant roots have evolved to capture water, minerals, and some ions from the soil. Roots exhibit a variety of branching patterns that facilitate this process. The outermost root cells have specialized structures called root hairs that increase the root surface, thus increasing soil contact. Water can passively cross into roots, as the concentration of water in the soil is higher than that of the root tissue. Minerals, in contrast, are actively transported into root cells.
34.3K
02:02Responses to Salt Stress
13.7K
Salt stress—which can be triggered by high salt concentrations in a plant’s environment—can significantly affect plant growth and crop production by influencing photosynthesis and the absorption of water and nutrients.
13.7K
01:20Tonicity in Plants
31.7K
Plant cells maintain appropriate osmotic balance in extreme conditions. For instance, plants in dry environments store water in vacuoles, limit the opening of their stoma, and have thick, waxy cuticles to prevent unnecessary water loss. Some species of plants that live in salty environments store salt in their roots. As a result, water osmosis occurs in the root from the surrounding soil.
Tonicity
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water depending on the solute...
Tonicity
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water depending on the solute...
31.7K
00:53Tonicity in Plants
58.1K
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water. It depends on the quantity of solute that does not penetrate the membrane. Tonicity delimits the magnitude and direction of osmosis and results in three possible scenarios that alter the volume of a cell: hypertonicity, hypotonicity, and isotonicity. Due to differences in structure and physiology, tonicity of plant cells is different from that of animal cells in some scenarios.
58.1K
02:03Xylem and Transpiration-driven Transport of Resources
25.3K
The xylem of vascular plants distributes water and dissolved minerals that are taken up by the roots to the rest of the plant. The cells that transport xylem sap are dead upon maturity, and the movement of xylem sap is a passive process.
25.3K
01:46The Apoplast and Symplast
52.4K
Plant growth depends on its ability to take up water and dissolved minerals from the soil. The root system of every plant is equipped with the necessary tissues to facilitate the entry of water and solutes. The plant tissues involved in the transport of water and minerals have two major compartments - the apoplast and the symplast. The apoplast includes everything outside the plasma membrane of living cells and consists of cell walls, extracellular spaces, xylem, phloem, and tracheids. The...
52.4K