Project description:Plant root architecture is a major determinant of fitness, and is under constant modification in response to favorable and unfavorable environmental stimuli. Beyond impacts on the primary root, the environment can also alter the position, spacing, density, and length of secondary or lateral roots. Lateral root development is among the best-studied developmental processes in Arabidopsis thaliana, yet the earliest steps of organogenesis remain elusive. Among the challenges faced in capturing these early molecular events is the fact that this process occurs in a small number of cells with unpredictable timing. The advent of single-cell sequencing affords the opportunity to isolate cells undergoing this fate transition and examine their transcriptomes independently. Using this approach, we successfully captured the transcriptomes of lateral root primordia and discovered many previously unreported upregulated genes. To further study this process, we developed a method to selectively repress genes in the xylem pole pericycle cells where lateral roots originate. We found that expression of several of the upregulated genes was required for normal root development. In addition, we discovered a subpopulation of cells in the endodermal cell file that respond to lateral root initiation, further highlighting the benefits of the single cell approach.
Project description:We performed an analysis of transcriptomic responses to auxin within four distinct tissues of the Arabidopsis thaliana root. This high-resolution dataset shows how different cell types are predisposed to react to auxin with discrete transcriptional responses. The sensitivity provided by the analysis lies in the ability to detect cell-type specific responses diluted in organ-level analyses. This dataset provides a novel resource to examine how auxin, a widespread signal in plant development, influences differentiation and patterning in the plant through tissue-specific transcriptional regulation. To analyze the effect of auxin in separate spatial domains of the root, early transcriptional changes in response to auxin treatment were assayed by means of fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and microarray analysis in four tissues of the Arabidopsis root (wild type Col-0). The samples covered inner and outer as well as proximal and distal cell populations; including the stele (reporter line pWOL::GFP), xylem-pole (xp) pericycle (enhancer trap line E3754), epidermis/lateral root cap (reporter line pWER::GFP) and columella (enhancer trap line PET111). One-week-old seedlings of the individual lines were treated with auxin (two hours, 5µM indole-3-acetic acid [IAA]) or mock treated, after which roots were harvested and cells were dissociated by cell wall digestion (1 hour; including 5uM IAA) . GFP-positive cells were sorted and used for microarray transcriptome analysis (as in Bargmann and Birnbaum, Plant Phys. 2010). For comparison, transcriptional responses to auxin were also assayed in intact (undigested) roots.
Project description:We developed a method to synchronize the induction of lateral roots in primary and adventitious roots of Zea mays, and used it to perform a genome-wide transcriptome analysis of the pericycle cells in front of the phloem poles during lateral root initiation.
Project description:Coordinated distribution of Pi between roots and shoots is an important process that plants use to maintain Pi homeostasis. SHR (SHORT-ROOT) is well-characterized for its function in root radial patterning1-3. Here, we demonstrate a new role of SHR in controlling phosphate (Pi) allocation from roots to shoots by regulating PHOSPHATE1 (PHO1) in the root differentiation zone. We recovered a weak mutant allele of SHR in Arabidopsis which accumulates much less Pi in the shoot and shows constitutive Pi starvation response (PSR) under Pi-sufficient condition. Besides, Pi starvation suppresses SHR protein accumulation and releases its inhibition on the HD-ZIP Ⅲ transcription factor PHB. PHB accumulates and directly binds the promoter of PHO2 to upregulate its transcription, resulting in PHO1 degradation in the xylem-pole pericycle cells. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism of how plants repress Pi translocation from roots to shoots in response to Pi starvation.
Project description:Genome wide transcriptome profiling of pericycle cells from roots exposed to auxin, cytokinin and both hormones simultaneously. Lateral root organogenesis in Arabidopsis is governed by a complex network of hormonal regulations. Plant hormones auxin and cytokinin were demonstrated to be the key regulators of this lateral root organogenesis and their mode of interaction is antagonistic. The aim of the project is to understand the role of the auxin - cytokinin signalling pathways in lateral root organogenesis.
Project description:We developed a method to synchronize the induction of lateral roots in primary and adventitious roots of Zea mays, and used it to perform a genome-wide transcriptome analysis of the pericycle cells in front of the phloem poles during lateral root initiation. Lateral roots were induced in primary and adventitious roots of Maize. For the primary root, plants were germinated and grown 64 hours in NPA 50 µM, and then transfered to NAA 50 µM. For the adventitious roots, plants were germinated and grown in water for 6 days, then tranfered 4 days in NPA 25 µM, and finally transfered to NAA 25 µM. For all these roots, pericycle cells located in front of the phloem poles in segments of roots located between 5 and 10 mm distance from the root tip were isolated using laser capture microdissection after cryosection. Material was sampled at 0 hours (NPA) and after 2, 3 and 4 hours of NAA treatment, for both the primary and adventitious roots and also after 6 hours and 9 hours of NAA treatment for the adventitious roots.
Project description:Lateral root initiation was used as a model system to study the mechanisms behind auxin-induced cell division. Genome-wide transcriptional changes were monitored during the early steps of lateral root initiation. Inclusion of the dominant auxin signaling mutant solitary root1 (slr1) identified genes involved in lateral root initiation that act downstream of the AUX/IAA signaling pathway. Interestingly, key components of the cell cycle machinery were strongly defective in slr1, suggesting a direct link between AUX/IAA signaling and core cell cycle regulation. However, induction of the cell cycle in the mutant background by overexpression of the D-type cyclin (CYCD3;1) was able to trigger complete rounds of cell division in the pericycle that did not result in lateral root formation. Therefore, lateral root initiation can only take place when cell cycle activation is accompanied by cell fate respecification of pericycle cells. The microarray data also yielded evidence for the existence of both negative and positive feedback mechanisms that regulate auxin homeostasis and signal transduction in the pericycle, thereby fine-tuning the process of lateral root initiation. Keywords: time-course wild type vs mutant comparison
Project description:In Arabidopsis, lateral roots (LRs) originate from pericycle cells located adjacent to vascular tissues, deep within the primary root. Consequently, new LR organs have to emerge through several overlying tissues. Eight stages of LR primordium development have been defined, with stage I representing a single layer of primordium cells generated by the first round of asymmetric divisions and stage VIII defining primordia that have fully emerged through the outer cell layers. To identify novel genes involved in LR development, we generated a transcriptomic time course dataset encompassing each LR developmental stage from pre-initiation to post-emergence.
Project description:Lateral root initiation was used as a model system to study the mechanisms behind auxin-induced cell division. Genome-wide transcriptional changes were monitored during the early steps of lateral root initiation. Inclusion of the dominant auxin signaling mutant solitary root1 (slr1) identified genes involved in lateral root initiation that act downstream of the AUX/IAA signaling pathway. Interestingly, key components of the cell cycle machinery were strongly defective in slr1, suggesting a direct link between AUX/IAA signaling and core cell cycle regulation. However, induction of the cell cycle in the mutant background by overexpression of the D-type cyclin (CYCD3;1) was able to trigger complete rounds of cell division in the pericycle that did not result in lateral root formation. Therefore, lateral root initiation can only take place when cell cycle activation is accompanied by cell fate respecification of pericycle cells. The microarray data also yielded evidence for the existence of both negative and positive feedback mechanisms that regulate auxin homeostasis and signal transduction in the pericycle, thereby fine-tuning the process of lateral root initiation. Experiment Overall Design: Seedlings of both wild type (Col-0) and the lateral root defective mutant (slr-1) were germinated on MS medium supplemented with 10μM NPA (=auxin transport inhibitor). Three days after germination, such seedlings were transferred to MS supplemented with 10μM NAA for 0h, 2h and 6h respectively. The segment between root meristem and root-hypocotyl junction was harvested from about 1500 seedling per time point. All treatments were repeated biologically. 5.8 μg total RNA was used for the preparation of biotinylated cRNA. Labeled RNA was hybridised to ATH1 Affymetrix chips. The resulting data was MAS5.0 normalised.
Project description:To identify genes involved in the early phases of lateral root initiation, we profiled the transcriptomes of plants synchronously induced for lateral root initiation after 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6h of auxin treatment in conditions where IAA14 or IAA3-dependent auxin signaling is blocked. For this we used seedlings expressing non-degradable versions of the AUX/IAAs IAA14 (slr-1) or IAA3 (shy2-2) fused to the glucocorticoid receptor domain (slr-1:GR or shy2-2:GR) under the control of the pericycle and founder cell specific GATA23 promoter. Treatment with dexamethasone induces, specifically in pericycle cells, the nuclear translocation of the non-degradable AUX/IAA that acts as a dominant repressor of auxin signaling resulting in a complete block of lateral root formation