In plants, developmental plasticity allows for the modulation of organ growth in response to environmental cues. Being in contact with soil, roots are the first organ that responds to various types of soil abiotic stress such as high salt concentration. In the root, developmental plasticity relies on changes in the activity of the apical meristem, the region at the tip of the root where a set of self-renewing undifferentiated stem cells sustain growth. Here, we show that salt stress promotes differentiation of root meristem cells via reducing the dosage of the microRNAs miR165 and 166. By means of genetic, molecular and computational analysis, we show that the levels of miR165 and 166 respond to high salt concentration, and that miR165 and 166-dependent PHABULOSA (PHB) modulation is central to the response of root growth to this stress. Specifically, we show that salt-dependent reduction of miR165 and 166 causes a rapid increase in PHB expression and, hence, production of the root meristem pro-differentiation hormone cytokinin. Our data provide direct evidence for how the miRNA-dependent modulation of transcription factor dosage mediates plastic development in plants.Genetic, molecular, and computational analyses reveal that salt stress alters root apical meristem size through miR165/166-mediated regulation of cytokinin levels via the PHB-IPT7 pathway.

microRNA165 and 166 modulate response of the Arabidopsis root apical meristem to salt stress / Scintu, Daria; Scacchi, Emanuele; Cazzaniga, Francesca; Vinciarelli, Federico; De Vivo, Mirko; Shtin, Margaryta; Svolacchia, Noemi; Bertolotti, Gaia; Unterholzner, Simon Josef; Del Bianco, Marta; Timmermans, Marja; Di Mambro, Riccardo; Vittorioso, Paola; Sabatini, Sabrina; Costantino, Paolo; Dello Ioio, Raffaele. - In: COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY. - ISSN 2399-3642. - 6:1(2023). [10.1038/s42003-023-05201-6]

microRNA165 and 166 modulate response of the Arabidopsis root apical meristem to salt stress

Scintu, Daria
Primo
Supervision
;
Scacchi, Emanuele
Secondo
Supervision
;
Cazzaniga, Francesca
Methodology
;
Vinciarelli, Federico
Methodology
;
De Vivo, Mirko
Methodology
;
Shtin, Margaryta
Methodology
;
Svolacchia, Noemi
Methodology
;
Bertolotti, Gaia
Methodology
;
Del Bianco, Marta
Funding Acquisition
;
Di Mambro, Riccardo
Data Curation
;
Vittorioso, Paola
Writing – Review & Editing
;
Sabatini, Sabrina
Funding Acquisition
;
Costantino, Paolo
Penultimo
Writing – Review & Editing
;
Dello Ioio, Raffaele
Ultimo
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2023

Abstract

In plants, developmental plasticity allows for the modulation of organ growth in response to environmental cues. Being in contact with soil, roots are the first organ that responds to various types of soil abiotic stress such as high salt concentration. In the root, developmental plasticity relies on changes in the activity of the apical meristem, the region at the tip of the root where a set of self-renewing undifferentiated stem cells sustain growth. Here, we show that salt stress promotes differentiation of root meristem cells via reducing the dosage of the microRNAs miR165 and 166. By means of genetic, molecular and computational analysis, we show that the levels of miR165 and 166 respond to high salt concentration, and that miR165 and 166-dependent PHABULOSA (PHB) modulation is central to the response of root growth to this stress. Specifically, we show that salt-dependent reduction of miR165 and 166 causes a rapid increase in PHB expression and, hence, production of the root meristem pro-differentiation hormone cytokinin. Our data provide direct evidence for how the miRNA-dependent modulation of transcription factor dosage mediates plastic development in plants.Genetic, molecular, and computational analyses reveal that salt stress alters root apical meristem size through miR165/166-mediated regulation of cytokinin levels via the PHB-IPT7 pathway.
2023
salt; root development; arabidopsis
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
microRNA165 and 166 modulate response of the Arabidopsis root apical meristem to salt stress / Scintu, Daria; Scacchi, Emanuele; Cazzaniga, Francesca; Vinciarelli, Federico; De Vivo, Mirko; Shtin, Margaryta; Svolacchia, Noemi; Bertolotti, Gaia; Unterholzner, Simon Josef; Del Bianco, Marta; Timmermans, Marja; Di Mambro, Riccardo; Vittorioso, Paola; Sabatini, Sabrina; Costantino, Paolo; Dello Ioio, Raffaele. - In: COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY. - ISSN 2399-3642. - 6:1(2023). [10.1038/s42003-023-05201-6]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1688737
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