Arabidopsis leaf-expressed AGAMOUS-LIKE 24 mRNA systemically specifies floral meristem differentiation

Plants can record external stimuli in mobile mRNAs and systemically deliver them to distal tissues to adjust development. Despite the identification of thousands of mobile mRNAs, the functional relevance of mobile mRNAs remains limited. Many mobile mRNAs are synthesized in the source cells that perceive environmental stimuli, but specifically exert their functions upon transportation to the recipient cells. However, the translation of mobile mRNA-encoded protein in the source cells could locally activate downstream target genes. How plants avoid ectopic functions of mobile mRNAs in the source cells to achieve tissue specificity remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that Arabidopsis AGAMOUS-LIKE 24 (AGL24) is a mobile mRNA whose movement is necessary and sufficient to specify floral organ identity. Although AGL24 mRNA is expressed in vegetative tissues, AGL24 protein exclusively accumulates in the shoot apex. In leaves, AGL24 proteins are degraded to avoid ectopically activating its downstream target genes. Our results reveal how selective protein degradation in source cells provides a strategy to limit the local effects associated with proteins encoded by mobile mRNAs, which ensures that mobile mRNAs specifically trigger systemic responses only in recipient tissues.