A root cap-localized NAC transcription factor controls root halotropic response to salt stress in Arabidopsis

Lulu Zheng; Yongfeng Hu; Tianzhao Yang; Zhen Wang; Daoyuan Wang; Letian Jia; Yuanming Xie; Long Luo; Weicong Qi; Yuanda Lv; Tom Beeckman; Wei Xuan; Yi Han

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-46482-7

A root cap-localized NAC transcription factor controls root halotropic response to salt stress in Arabidopsis

Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 7;15(1):2061. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46482-7.

Authors

Lulu Zheng^{1

2

3}, Yongfeng Hu⁴, Tianzhao Yang⁵, Zhen Wang¹, Daoyuan Wang¹, Letian Jia¹, Yuanming Xie¹, Long Luo⁵, Weicong Qi⁶, Yuanda Lv⁶, Tom Beeckman^{2

3}, Wei Xuan⁷, Yi Han⁸

Affiliations

¹ Sanya Institute of Nanjing Agricultural University, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
² Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium.
³ VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, Ghent, B-9052, Belgium.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Three Gorges Regional Plant Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Biotechnology Research Center, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China.
⁵ National Engineering Laboratory of Crop Stress Resistence Breeding, School of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China.
⁶ Excellence and Innovation Center, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China.
⁷ Sanya Institute of Nanjing Agricultural University, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China. wexua@njau.edu.cn.
⁸ National Engineering Laboratory of Crop Stress Resistence Breeding, School of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, China. yi.han@ahau.edu.cn.

Abstract

Plants are capable of altering root growth direction to curtail exposure to a saline environment (termed halotropism). The root cap that surrounds root tip meristematic stem cells plays crucial roles in perceiving and responding to environmental stimuli. However, how the root cap mediates root halotropism remains undetermined. Here, we identified a root cap-localized NAC transcription factor, SOMBRERO (SMB), that is required for root halotropism. Its effect on root halotropism is attributable to the establishment of asymmetric auxin distribution in the lateral root cap (LRC) rather than to the alteration of cellular sodium equilibrium or amyloplast statoliths. Furthermore, SMB is essential for basal expression of the auxin influx carrier gene AUX1 in LRC and for auxin redistribution in a spatiotemporally-regulated manner, thereby leading to directional bending of roots away from higher salinity. Our findings uncover an SMB-AUX1-auxin module linking the role of the root cap to the activation of root halotropism.

MeSH terms

Arabidopsis* / genetics
Gene Expression Regulation
Indoleacetic Acids
Salt Stress / genetics
Transcription Factors* / genetics

Substances

Transcription Factors
Indoleacetic Acids