Molecular and physiological characterization of brassinosteroid receptor BRI1 mutants in Sorghum bicolor

The high sequence and structural similarities between BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1 (BRI1) brassinosteroid (BR) receptors of Arabidopsis (AtBRI1) and sorghum (SbBRI1) prompted us to study the functionally conserved roles of BRI1 in both organisms. Introducing sorghum SbBRI1 in Arabidopsis bri1 mutants restores defective growth and developmental phenotypes to wild-type levels. Sorghum mutants for SbBRI1 show defective BR sensitivity and impaired plant growth and development throughout the entire sorghum life cycle. Embryonic analysis of sorghum primary root techniques permits to trace back root growth and development to early stages in an unprecedented way, revealing the functionally conserved roles of the SbBRI1 receptor in BR perception during meristem development. RNA-seq analysis uncovers the downstream regulation of the SbBRI1 pathway in cell wall biogenesis during cell growth. Together, these results uncover that the sorghum SbBRI1 protein plays functionally conserved roles in plant growth and development, while encouraging the study of BR pathways in sorghum and its implications for improving resilience in cereal crops.