Guard-cell phytochromes impact seedling photomorphogenesis and rosette leaf morphology

Sookyung Oh; Que Kong; Beronda L Montgomery

doi:10.17912/micropub.biology.000521

Guard-cell phytochromes impact seedling photomorphogenesis and rosette leaf morphology

MicroPubl Biol. 2022 Jan 31:2022:10.17912/micropub.biology.000521. doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000521. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Sookyung Oh^#¹, Que Kong^#¹, Beronda L Montgomery^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ DOE-Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
² Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
³ Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Using a previously established transgenic approach to inactivate phytochrome chromophore synthesis in specific organs or tissues, we used a guard cell-specific promoter to induce phytochrome deficiencies in guard cells of Arabidopsis thaliana. Analyses of multiple homozygous lines depleted of phytochromes in stomatal guard cells indicated elongated hypocotyls specifically in red and far-red growth conditions. Furthermore, rosette leaves of adult plants with guard cell-specific phytochrome deficiencies showed enhanced serration compared to the wild-type Col-0 parent. Thus, we demonstrate that guard cell-localized phytochromes impact the inhibition of hypocotyl elongation, as well as leaf margin morphology of adult rosette leaves in A. thaliana.