The AGC protein kinase UNICORN controls planar growth by attenuating PDK1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABSTRACT: Tissue morphogenesis critically depends on the coordination of cellular growth patterns. In plants, many organs consist of clonally distinct cell layers, such as the epidermis, whose cells undergo divisions that are oriented along the plane of the layer. The developmental control of such planar growth is poorly understood. We have previously identified the Arabidopsis AGCVIII-class protein kinase UNICORN (UCN) as a central regulator of this process. Plants lacking UCN activity show spontaneous formation of ectopic multicellular protrusions in integuments and malformed petals indicating that UCN suppresses uncontrolled growth in those tissues. In the current model UCN regulates planar growth of integuments in part by directly repressing the putative transcription factor ABERRANT TESTA SHAPE

SUBMITTER: Scholz S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6386418 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature