A mechanism coordinating root elongation, endodermal differentiation, redox homeostasis and response

Abstract

AbstractRoot growth relies on both cell division and elongation, which occur in the meristem and elongation zones respectively. SCARECROW (SCR) is a GRAS family gene essential for root growth and radial patterning in the Arabidopsis root. Previous studies showed that SCR promotes root growth by suppressing cytokinin response in the meristem, but there is also evidence that SCR expressed beyond the meristem is required as well for root growth. Here we report that SCR promotes root growth by promoting cell elongation through suppression of oxidative stress response and maintenance of redox homeostasis in the elongation zone. In the scr root, a higher level of hydrogen peroxide was detected, which can be attributed to down-regulation of peroxidase gene 3. When stress response was blocked or redox status was ameliorated by the aba2 or upb1 mutation, the scr mutant produced a significantly longer root with longer cells and a larger and mitotically more active meristem, even though the stem cell and radial patterning defects still persisted. We showed that WRKY15, an oxidative responsive gene, was a direct target of SCR down-regulated in the scr mutant, which suggests that SCR has an active role in suppressing oxidative stress response. Since hydrogen peroxide and peroxidases are essential for endodermal differentiation, these results suggest that SCR plays a central role in coordinating cell elongation, endodermal differentiation, redox homeostasis, and oxidative stress response in plant root.One sentence summaryThis study reveals a novel mechanism of root growth regulation, which involves a previously unrecognized role of SCR in regulating cell elongation, endodermal differentiation, and redox homeostasis.