Significance
The endodermis acts as a “second skin” in plant roots by providing the cellular control necessary for the selective entry of water and mineral nutrients into the vascular system. To enable such control, Casparian strips span the cell wall of adjacent endodermal cells to form a tight junction that blocks diffusion across the endodermis in the cell wall. This junction is composed of a fine band of lignin, the polymer that gives wood its strength. Here, we characterize a dirigent protein (from Latin,
dirigere
: to guide or align) as playing a vital role in the patterning of lignin in the Casparian strip, identifying a new component of the molecular machinery that builds Casparian strips.
The endodermis in roots acts as a selectivity filter for nutrient and water transport essential for growth and development. This selectivity is enabled by the formation of lignin-based Casparian strips. Casparian strip formation is initiated by the localization of the Casparian strip domain proteins (CASPs) in the plasma membrane, at the site where the Casparian strip will form. Localized CASPs recruit Peroxidase 64 (PER64), a Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog F, and Enhanced Suberin 1 (ESB1), a dirigent-like protein, to assemble the lignin polymerization machinery. However, the factors that control both expression of the genes encoding this biosynthetic machinery and its localization to the Casparian strip formation site remain unknown. Here, we identify the transcription factor, MYB36, essential for Casparian strip formation. MYB36 directly and positively regulates the expression of the Casparian strip genes CASP1, PER64, and ESB1. Casparian strips are absent in plants lacking a functional MYB36 and are replaced by ectopic lignin-like material in the corners of endodermal cells. The barrier function of Casparian strips in these plants is also disrupted. Significantly, ectopic expression of MYB36 in the cortex is sufficient to reprogram these cells to start expressing CASP1–GFP, correctly localize the CASP1–GFP protein to form a Casparian strip domain, and deposit a Casparian strip-like structure in the cell wall at this location. These results demonstrate that MYB36 is controlling expression of the machinery required to locally polymerize lignin in a fine band in the cell wall for the formation of the Casparian strip.
Iron is essential for both plant growth and human health and nutrition. Knowledge of the signaling mechanisms that communicate iron demand from shoots to roots to regulate iron uptake as well as the transport systems mediating iron partitioning into edible plant tissues is critical for the development of crop biofortification strategies. Here, we report that OPT3, previously classified as an oligopeptide transporter, is a plasma membrane transporter capable of transporting transition ions in vitro. Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana show that OPT3 loads iron into the phloem, facilitates iron recirculation from the xylem to the phloem, and regulates both shoot-to-root iron signaling and iron redistribution from mature to developing tissues. We also uncovered an aspect of crosstalk between iron homeostasis and cadmium partitioning that is mediated by OPT3. Together, these discoveries provide promising avenues for targeted strategies directed at increasing iron while decreasing cadmium density in the edible portions of crops and improving agricultural productivity in iron deficient soils.
Understanding the mechanism of cadmium (Cd) accumulation in plants is important to help reduce its potential toxicity to both plants and humans through dietary and environmental exposure. Here, we report on a study to uncover the genetic basis underlying natural variation in Cd accumulation in a world-wide collection of 349 wild collected Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. We identified a 4-fold variation (0.5–2 µg Cd g−1 dry weight) in leaf Cd accumulation when these accessions were grown in a controlled common garden. By combining genome-wide association mapping, linkage mapping in an experimental F2 population, and transgenic complementation, we reveal that HMA3 is the sole major locus responsible for the variation in leaf Cd accumulation we observe in this diverse population of A. thaliana accessions. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequence of HMA3 from 149 A. thaliana accessions reveals the existence of 10 major natural protein haplotypes. Association of these haplotypes with leaf Cd accumulation and genetics complementation experiments indicate that 5 of these haplotypes are active and 5 are inactive, and that elevated leaf Cd accumulation is associated with the reduced function of HMA3 caused by a nonsense mutation and polymorphisms that change two specific amino acids.
A genome-wide association study identifies the enzyme in plants that transforms arsenate into arsenite, allowing its extrusion into the soil and thereby controlling arsenic accumulation.
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