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Visualizing Lignification Dynamics in Plants with Click Chemistry: Dual Labeling is BLISS!
Published on: January 26, 2018
A dirigent protein complex directs lignin polymerization and assembly of the root diffusion barrier
Yi-Qun Gao1, Jin-Quan Huang2, Guilhem Reyt1
1Future Food Beacon of Excellence & School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK.
Abstract:
Functionally similar to the tight junctions present in animal guts, plant roots have evolved a lignified Casparian strip as an extracellular diffusion barrier in the endodermis to seal the root apoplast and maintain nutrient homeostasis. How this diffusion barrier is structured has been partially defined, but its lignin polymerization and assembly steps remain elusive. Here, we characterize a family of dirigent proteins (DPs) essential for both the localized polymerization of lignin required for Casparian strip biogenesis in the cell wall and for attachment of the strip to the plasma membrane to seal the apoplast. We reveal a Casparian strip lignification mechanism that requires cooperation between DPs and the Schengen pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrate that DPs directly mediate lignin polymerization as part of this mechanism.
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