Biology subjects

Simon, R. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Simon, R. G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Macromolecular toolbox to elucidate CLE-RLK binding, signaling and downstream effects

Plant peptides communicate by binding to a large family of receptor-like kinases (RLKs) and they share a conserved binding mechanism, which may account for their promiscuous interaction with several RLKs. In order to understand the in vivo binding specificity of CLE peptide family, we have developed a novel set of CLAVATA 3 (CLV3) based peptide tools. After carefully evaluating the CLE peptide binding characteristics, using solid phase synthesis process, we have modified the CLV3 peptide and attached a fluorophore and a photoactivable side group. We observed that the labeled CLV3 shows binding specificity within CLAVATA1 clade of RLKs while avoiding the distantly-related PEP RECEPTOR clade, thus resolving the contradictory results obtained previously by many in vitro methods. Furthermore, we observed that the RLK-bound CLV3 undergoes clathrin-mediated endocytosis and gets trafficked to vacuole via ARA7-labeled endosomes. Additionally, modifying CLV3 for light-controlled activation enabled spatial and temporal control over CLE signalling. Hence our CLV3 macromolecular toolbox can be used to study rapid cell specific down-stream effects. Given the conserved binding properties, in the future our toolbox can also be used as a template to modify other CLE peptides. HighlightA macromolecular tool box consisting of modified CLE peptide with fluorescent molecule and photoactivable group offers reliable insights into its in vivo binding characteristics, localization and signaling.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2022

The Arabidopsis SHORTROOT network coordinates shoot apical meristem development with auxin dependent lateral organ initiation

Unlike animals, plants have the capacity to produce new organs post-embryonically throughout their entire life cycle. This is due to stem cells present in the shoot and the root apical meristems (SAM and RAM, respectively). In the SAM, stem cells are located in the central zone (CZ) where they divide slowly. Stem cell daughters are displaced laterally and enter the peripheral zone (PZ). Here, their mitotic activity increases, and lateral organ primordia (LOP) are formed. How the spatial arrangement of these different domains is initiated and controlled during SAM growth and development, and how sites of LOP are determined in the PZ is not yet completely understood. In the RAM, the GRAS family transcription factor SHORTROOT (SHR) acts as a master regulator of signalling pathways that maintain the root stem cell niche and control formation of ground tissue layers. We hypothesized that SHR could perform a similar role in the SAM, and found that SHR, together with its target transcription factors SCARECROW (SCR), SCARECROW-LIKE23 (SCL23) and JACKDAW (JKD), controls shoot meristem size by regulating cell division rates, and promotes formation of lateral organs. SHR, SCR, SCL23 and JKD are expressed in very distinct patterns in the SAM. Where these expression domains overlap, they can physically interact to activate expression of the key cell cycle regulator CYCLIND6;1 (CYCD6;1) and thereby promote the formation of new cell layers. In the PZ, upregulation of SHR expression at sites of organ initiation depends on the phytohormone auxin, acting through the auxin response factor MONOPTEROS (MP) and auxin response elements in the SHR promoter. In the CZ, the SHR-target SCL23 physically interacts with WUS, a key regulator of stem cell maintenance, and both SCL23 and WUS expression are subject to negative feedback regulation from stem cells through the CLAVATA signalling pathway. Together, our findings illustrate how SHR-dependent transcription factor complexes act in different domains of the shoot meristem to mediate cell division and auxin dependent organ initiation in the PZ, and coordinate this activity with stem cell maintenance in the CZ of the SAM.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Control of Arabidopsis shoot stem cell homeostasis by two antagonistic CLE peptide signalling pathways

Stem cell homeostasis in plant shoot meristems requires tight coordiantion between stem cell proliferation and cell differentiation. In Arabidopsis, stem cells express the secreted dodecapeptide CLAVATA3 (CLV3), which signals through the leucine-rich repeat (LRR)-receptor kinase CLAVATA1 (CLV1) and related CLV1-family members to downregulate expression of the homeodomain transcription factor WUSCHEL (WUS). WUS protein moves from cells below the stem cell domain to the meristem tip and promotes stem cell identity, together with CLV3 expression, generating a negative feedback loop. How stem cell activity in the meristem centre is coordinated with organ initiation and cell differentiation at the periphery is unknown. We show here that the CLE40 gene, encoding a secreted peptide closely related to CLV3, is expressed in the SAM in differentiating cells in a pattern complementary to that of CLV3. CLE40 promotes WUS expression via BAM1, a CLV1-family receptor, and CLE40 expression is in turn repressed in a WUS-dependent manner. Together, CLE40-BAM1-WUS establish a second negative feedback loop. We propose that stem cell homeostasis is achieved through two intertwined pathways that adjust WUS activity and incorporate information on the size of the stem cell domain, via CLV3-CLV1, and on cell differentiation via CLE40-BAM1.

plant biology↗