Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.04.12.439483

Sugar Signaling Induces Dynamic Changes during Meristem Development in Arabidopsis

Musialak-Lange, M.·Fiddeke, K.·Franke, A.·Kragler, F.·Abel, C.·Wahl, V.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Aerial parts of plants originate from pluripotent stem cells in the shoot apical meristem. Their population is maintained via the maintenance regulators WUSCHEL and CLAVATA3 in a negative feed-back loop. Meristem size is dynamic and undergoes a more than 2-fold expansion upon the transition to reproductive growth. The mechanism controlling this doming is largely unknown, but coinciding increased trehalose 6-phosphate and changed meristem size in overexpressing or knockdown lines of TREHALOSE PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE1 suggest a participation of sugar signaling. Here we show that TREHALOSE PHOSPHATE PHOSPHATASEJ is directly regulated by WUSCHEL. Plants with reduced levels of TREHALOSE PHOSPHATE PHOSPHATASEJ in the outer meristem layer are flowering early and its reduction in the late flowering clavata3 mutant, restores wild-type flowering. This is caused by a reduction of mature miR156 and increased expression of SQUAMOSA PROMOTER-BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE genes. We demonstrate that these are important for age pathway-induced flowering, in a negative feed-back loop with WUSCHEL downstream of the trehalose 6-phosphate pathway. In summary, our findings demonstrate a dynamic feed-back regulation between central maintenance and flowering time regulators with sugar signaling. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=169 SRC="FIGDIR/small/439483v2_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (34K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@988d6eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16d469borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1366ce5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@2753f0_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOSynopsis:C_FLOATNO Schematic illustration of dynamic feedback-regulations between sugar signaling, meristem maintenance and the age pathway of the flowering network in the transition SAM as compared to the vegetative SAM.During vegetative growth SAM maintenance is controlled by spatially separated WUS and CLV3 expression in a negative feedback-loop. At floral transition increased activity of the T6P pathway in the SAM uncouples this regulation. This results in an unreported special relocation of WUS expression and involves a transient negative feedback-loop between WUS and SPL4. C_FIG

Explore related subjects

plant biologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Musialak-Lange, M., Fiddeke, K., Franke, A., Kragler, F., Abel, C., Wahl, V.. 2021-04-13. Sugar Signaling Induces Dynamic Changes during Meristem Development in Arabidopsis. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.12.439483

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Growth, yield, and quality of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) as affected by the combined application of liquid bio-slurry and NPS fertilizer rates in Kucha, Gamo zone, south Ethiopia

Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a key cash and nutritional crop in Ethiopia, yet its productivity remains constrained by inadequate and imbalanced soil nutrient management. Therefore, the field experiment was conducted in Kucha woreda, Gamo Zone, South Ethiopia, during the 2024/25 cropping season to investigate the effect of liquid bio-slurry and NPS fertilizer rates on growth, yield and quality of hot pepper. The experiment consisted of 16 treatments arranged in a factorial combination of four liquid bio-slurry (LBS) rates (0, 20, 40, and 60 m3 ha-1) and four NPS fertilizer rates (0, 75, 150, and 225 kg ha-1) using a randomized complete block design with three replications. All experimental data were collected following standard agronomic procedures and subjected to analysis of variance using GenStat statistical software (18th edition). The results revealed that both the main and interaction effects of liquid bio-slurry and NPS significantly (p < 0.01) influenced phenological, growth, yield, and quality parameters. The combined application of 150 kg ha-1 NPS and 60 m3 ha-1 LBS produced the highest marketable dry fruit yield (2.94 t ha-1) and total dry fruit yield (3.16 t ha-1), representing a 129.69% yield advantage over the control (1.28 t ha-1) in the case of marketable dry fruit yield. The findings demonstrate that integrated nutrient management using combined LBS and NPS fertilizers significantly enhanced the productivity and quality of hot pepper. Therefore, the application of 150 kg ha-1 NPS combined with 60 m3 ha-1 liquid bio-slurry is recommended for improved hot pepper production for the study area and similar agro-ecological conditions.

plant biology↗
bioRxiv2026

Robust planar morphogenesis in leaf-like organs requires callose-dependent coordination of division and growth

Planar organs, such as leaves, are key developmental innovations underlying the evolutionary success of plants. In vascular plants, building a planar organ requires coordinating cell division and growth both within the organ plane and across multiple, mechanically distinct cell layers. Phyllids, the leaf-like organs of bryophytes, typically consist of a single cell layer and offer a minimal system to decouple in-plane growth coordination from inter-layer mechanics. Here, we investigate how robust planar morphogenesis is achieved in phyllids, using the moss Physcomitrium patens as a bryophyte model. We show that impaired cytokinesis, caused by the loss of a callose synthase gene, disrupts growth gradients, ultimately yielding smaller, non-planar organs of variable shape. Combining quantitative live imaging with computational modeling, we show that the severity of shape defects in mutants depends on the spatial distribution and developmental timing of local growth arrests. These findings reveal how callose-dependent coordination between cell division and in-plane growth prevents mechanical conflicts and maintains planarity in a monolayered plant organ.

plant biology↗
bioRxiv2026

Structural determinants underlie the essentiality of the m-type thioredoxin TrxA in Synechocystis

Thioredoxins are central regulators of thiol-based redox signaling in photosynthetic organisms, where multiple isoforms with partially overlapping functions coexist. Among them, TrxA is the cyanobacterial homolog of chloroplast m-type thioredoxins and the only thioredoxin known to be essential in cyanobacteria. However, it is unclear whether this essentiality is due to its high intracellular abundance or to its specific molecular properties. Here, we evaluated the ability of different thioredoxins to functionally replace TrxA and used TrxA/TrxB chimeras to identify the structural determinants underlying its functional specificity. Overexpression of TrxB, TrxQ or TrxC did not support complete segregation of a disrupted trxA locus, although the proteins accumulated to levels comparable to those of endogenous TrxA. Similarly, heterologous expression of NTRC did not rescue the phenotype associated with reduced TrxA levels. Comparative structural analysis revealed differences in surface electrostatics and structural features surrounding the catalytic site of TrxA compared with the other thioredoxins. Analysis of TrxB/TrxA chimeras showed that determinants required for functional complementation are primarily located within the C-terminal region of TrxA. Chimeric variants also differed in their ability to activate cyanobacterial FBP/SBPase and pea chloroplast FBPase in vitro, supporting a role for this region in target-specific interactions. Together, these results demonstrate that the essential function of TrxA cannot be explained by protein abundance alone and requires molecular determinants located primarily within its C-terminal region.

plant biology↗