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Competitive action between Brassinosteroid and tracheary element differentiation inhibitory factor in controlling
1Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo 657-8501, Japan.
Plant Biotechnology (Tokyo, Japan)
|July 8, 2022
Summary
Plant hormones tracheary element differentiation inhibitory factor (TDIF) and brassinosteroid (BR) competitively regulate xylem differentiation. Their mutual inhibition fine-tunes vascular meristem activity for plant growth.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Molecular Signaling
Background:
- Permanent secondary growth in plants relies on controlled cell proliferation and differentiation within the vascular meristem.
- Tracheary element differentiation inhibitory factor (TDIF) inhibits xylem differentiation, while brassinosteroid (BR) promotes it in (pro)cambial cells.
- The cooperative mechanism between TDIF and BR in regulating xylem differentiation remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cooperative roles of TDIF and BR in regulating xylem differentiation.
- To develop a quantitative method for evaluating xylem differentiation frequency.
- To elucidate the signaling crosstalk between TDIF and BR in vascular meristem maintenance.
Main Methods:
- Development of the Vascular cell Induction culture System Using Arabidopsis Leaves (VISUAL).
- Utilization of a xylem-specific luciferase reporter line for quantitative assessment.
- Dose-dependent treatment with TDIF and BR, individually and simultaneously.
Main Results:
- TDIF dose-dependently suppressed xylem differentiation, while BR dose-dependently promoted it.
- Simultaneous application of TDIF and BR resulted in mutual cancellation of their effects.
- A competitive relationship between TDIF and BR in regulating xylem differentiation was identified.
Conclusions:
- TDIF and BR exhibit a competitive interaction, with each hormone's signal opposing the other's effect.
- This mutual inhibition of "ON" (BR) and "OFF" (TDIF) signals allows for fine-tuned regulation of xylem differentiation.
- The findings provide insights into the molecular mechanisms maintaining vascular meristem homeostasis.
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