Biology subjects

Perez-Henriquez, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Perez-Henriquez, P..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

WALLFLOWER, an Arabidopsis receptor-like kinase, is polarized in root epidermal cells where it represses cell elongation impacting root waving

Precise control of cell elongation and changes in directional growth are required for adaptive root responses. Anisotropic cell expansion in the roots longitudinal axis must be coordinated among adjacent cell files and throughout the radial axis. However, links between activities across developmental axes remain obscure. We identified WALLFLOWER (WFL), a transmembrane receptor-like kinase that accumulates at the inner polar domain of epidermal cells in the root elongation zone. wfl mutants show deeper root waves and altered response to gravitropic re-orientation with increased cell length in specific root epidermal cell files. wfl phenotypes are rescued by WFL-GFP, but not by an intracellular truncation of WFL, which unexpectedly accumulates at the opposite (outer) polar domain. This suggests WFL function and its localization to the inner lateral plasma membrane domain are tightly coupled. Using advanced imaging techniques, including lifetime and atomic force microscopy, we found several mechano-chemical aspects of the wfl outer and inner cell walls are altered. This is consistent with a function for WFL in maintaining balanced mechanical properties between lateral cell walls during expansion. Overall, this work establishes a clear link between lateral protein polarization in peripheral tissues and longitudinal cell expansion required for adaptive organ growth.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

PIN2-mediated self-organizing transient auxin flow contributes to auxin maxima at the tip of Arabidopsis cotyledons

Directional auxin transport and formation of auxin maxima are critical for embryogenesis, organogenesis, pattern formation, and growth coordination in plants, but the mechanisms underpinning the initiation and establishment of these auxin dynamics are not fully understood. Here we show that a self-initiating and - terminating transient auxin flow along the marginal cells (MCs) contributes to the formation of an auxin maximum at the tip of Arabidopsis cotyledon that globally coordinates the interdigitation of puzzle-shaped pavement cells in the cotyledon epidermis. Prior to the interdigitation, indole butyric acid (IBA) is converted to indole acetic acid (IAA) to induce PIN2 accumulation and polarization in the marginal cells, leading to auxin flow toward and accumulation at the cotyledon tip. When IAA levels at the cotyledon tip reaches a maximum, it activates pavement cell interdigitation as well as the accumulation of the IBA transporter TOB1 in MCs, which sequesters IBA to the vacuole and reduces IBA availability and IAA levels. The reduction of IAA levels results in PIN2 down-regulation and cessation of the auxin flow. Hence, our results elucidate a self-activating and self-terminating transient polar auxin transport system in cotyledons, contributing to the formation of localized auxin maxima that spatiotemporally coordinate pavement cell interdigitation.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Hierarchical global and local auxin signals coordinate cellular interdigitation in Arabidopsis

The development of multicellular tissues requires both local and global coordination of cell polarization, however, the mechanisms underlying their interplay are poorly understood. In Arabidopsis, leaf epidermal pavement cells (PC) develop a puzzle-piece shape locally coordinated through apoplastic auxin signaling. Here we show auxin also globally coordinates interdigitation by activating the TIR1/AFB-dependent nuclear signaling pathway. This pathway promotes a transient maximum of auxin at the cotyledon tip, which then moves across the leaf activating local PC polarization, as demonstrated by locally uncaged auxin globally rescuing defects in tir1;afb1;afb2;afb4;afb5 mutant but not in tmk1;tmk2;tmk3;tmk4 mutants. Our findings show that hierarchically integrated global and local auxin signaling systems, which respectively depend on TIR1/AFB-dependent gene transcription in the nucleus and TMK-mediated rapid activation of ROP GTPases at the cell surface, control PC interdigitation patterns in Arabidopsis cotyledons, revealing a mechanism for coordinating a local cellular process with the development of whole tissues.

plant biology↗