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Updated: Aug 12, 2025
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Shootward Movement of CFDA Tracer Loaded in the Bottom Sink Tissues of Arabidopsis
Published on: May 11, 2019
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ABCB-mediated shootward auxin transport feeds into the root clock
Jian Chen1,2, Yangjie Hu3, Pengchao Hao4
1Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
EMBO Reports
|January 31, 2023
Summary
New research identifies ABCB15-22 proteins as key regulators of the root clock, influencing lateral root spacing. This discovery reveals a novel mechanism controlling plant root development and auxin transport.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Developmental biology
- Molecular genetics
Background:
- Lateral root (LR) positioning is crucial for plant architecture and is influenced by internal mechanisms.
- Auxin oscillations, known as the root clock, are thought to prepattern the primary root for LR emergence.
- The specific auxin transporters involved in this root clock mechanism remained largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel auxin transporters involved in the root clock mechanism.
- To investigate the role of specific ABCB transporters in lateral root patterning.
- To elucidate the contribution of these transporters to auxin transport and root clock oscillations.
Main Methods:
- Characterization of a genetically linked group of ABCB transporters (ABCB15-22).
- Gene knock-down and genome editing to assess phenotypic effects on LR density.
- High-resolution auxin transport assays and tissue-specific silencing.
- Analysis of root clock oscillation frequency and amplitude.
Main Results:
- ABCB15-22 were identified as novel auxin-transporting ABCB proteins.
- Reduced expression or function of ABCB15-22 led to significantly lower lateral root densities.
- These phenotypes correlated with a reduced amplitude, but not frequency, of root clock oscillations.
- ABCB15-22 were found to contribute to shootward auxin transport in the lateral root cap and epidermis.
Conclusions:
- ABCB15-22 play a critical role in regulating the root clock amplitude.
- Auxin transport mediated by ABCB15-22 in the lateral root cap and epidermis is essential for proper root clock function.
- These findings support a model where lateral root cap-derived auxin influences the root clock amplitude, impacting lateral root positioning.
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