Natural variation of BSK3 tunes brassinosteroid signaling to regulate root foraging under low nitrogen.

ABSTRACT: Developmental plasticity of root system architecture is crucial for plant performance in nutrient-poor soils. Roots of plants grown under mild nitrogen (N) deficiency show a foraging response characterized by increased root length but mechanisms underlying this developmental plasticity are still elusive. By employing natural variation in Arabidopsis accessions, we show that the brassinosteroid (BR) signaling kinase BSK3 modulates root elongation under mild N deficiency. In particular, a proline to leucine substitution in the predicted kinase domain of BSK3 enhances BR sensitivity and signaling to increase the extent of root elongation. We further show that low N specifically upregulates transcript levels of the BR co-receptor BAK1 to activate BR signaling and stimulate root elongation. Alt

SUBMITTER: Jia Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6542857 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature