Cell Expansion

Increasing evidences have indicated that humic substances can induce plant growth and productivity by functioning as an environmental source of auxinic activity. Here we comparatively evaluate the effects of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and humic acids (HA) isolated from two different soils (Inseptsol and Ultisol) and two different organic residues (vermicompost and sewage sludge) on root development and on activities of plasmalemma and tonoplast H+ pumps from maize roots. The data show that HA isolated from these different sources as well as low IAA concentrations (10−10 and 10−15 M) improve root growth through a markedly proliferation of lateral roots along with a differential activation not only of the plasmalemma but also of vacuolar H+-ATPases and H+-pyrophosphatase. Further, the vacuolar H+-ATPase had a peak of stimulation in a range from 10−8 to 10−10 M IAA, whereas the H+-pyrophosphatase was sensitive to a much broader range of IAA concentrations from 10−3 to 10−15 M. It is proposed a complementary view of the acid growth mechanism in which a concerted activation of the plasmalemma and tonoplast H+ pumps plays a key role in the root cell expansion process driven by environment-derived molecules endowed with auxinic activity, such as that of humic substances.

Populus is presented as a model system for the study of wood formation (xylogenesis). The formation of wood (secondary xylem) is an ordered developmental process involving cell division, cell expansion, secondary wall deposition, lignification and programmed cell death. Because wood is formed in a variable environment and subject to developmental control, xylem cells are produced that differ in size, shape, cell wall structure, texture and composition. Hormones mediate some of the variability observed and control the process of xylogenesis. High-resolution analysis of auxin distribution across cambial region tissues, combined with the analysis of transgenic plants with modified auxin distribution, suggests that auxin provides positional information for the exit of cells from the meristem and probably also for the duration of cell expansion. Poplar sequencing projects have provided access to genes involved in cell wall formation. Genes involved in the biosynthesis of the carbohydrate skeleton of the cell wall are briefly reviewed. Most progress has been made in characterizing pectin methyl esterases that modify pectins in the cambial region. Specific expression patterns have also been found for expansins, xyloglucan endotransglycosylases and cellulose synthases, pointing to their role in wood cell wall formation and modification. Finally, by studying transgenic plants modified in various steps of the monolignol biosynthetic pathway and by localizing the expression of various enzymes, new insight into the lignin biosynthesis in planta has been gained.

Two aquaporin genes were isolated from a cDNA library of canola (Brassica napus L.). The first aquaporin, BnPIP1 of 1094 bp, encoding a putative polypeptide of 287 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 30.4 kDa and a pI of 7.8, belongs to the family of plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIPs) aquaporins. The B. napus aquaporin showed 85–94% identity to the Arabidopsis thaliana PIPs. ABA priming of seed induced high levels of BnPIP1 transcript which remained after subsequent re-drying of the seed. The second aquaporin, Bnγ-TIP2 of 1020 bp, encoded a putative polypeptide of 253 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 25.8 kDa and a pI of 5.8. Bnγ-TIP2 showed 83–90% identity to γ-TIP genes from a variety of plant species. Bnγ-TIP2 was expressed only when radicle protrusion occurred in either untreated or primed seeds. Seeds primed with PEG or ABA germinated earlier and showed a higher final percentage of germination than unprimed seed, particularly under salt and osmotic stresses at low temperature. Transcripts of both BnPIP1 and Bnγ-TIP2 genes were present earlier during germination of primed seeds than non-primed seed. From these results, we conclude that BnPIP1 is related to the water transportation required for enzymatic metabolism of storage nutrients at the early stages of canola seed germination whereas Bnγ-TIP2 expression is related to cell growth associated with radicle protrusion. Priming induced the expression of BnPIP1 but had no effect on Bnγ-TIP2.

The plant growth regulator auxin controls cell identity, cell division and cell expansion. Auxin efflux facilitators (PINs) are associated with auxin maxima in distal regions of both shoots and roots. Here we model diffusion and PIN-facilitated auxin transport in and across cells within a structured root layout. In our model, the stable accumulation of auxin in a distal maximum emerges from the auxin flux pattern. We have experimentally tested model predictions of robustness and self-organization. Our model explains pattern formation and morphogenesis at timescales from seconds to weeks, and can be understood by conceptualizing the root as an 'auxin capacitor'. A robust auxin gradient associated with the maximum, in combination with separable roles of auxin in cell division and cell expansion, is able to explain the formation, maintenance and growth of sharply bounded meristematic and elongation zones. Directional permeability and diffusion can fully account for stable auxin...

Splicing provides an additional level in the regulation of gene expression and contributes to proteome diversity. Herein, we report the functional characterization of a recently described plant-specific protein, atRSZ33, which has characteristic features of a serine/arginine-rich protein and the ability to interact with other splicing factors, implying that this protein might be involved in constitutive and/or alternative splicing. Overexpression of atRSZ33 leads to alteration of splicing patterns of atSRp30 and atSRp34/SR1, indicating that atRSZ33 is indeed a splicing factor. Moreover, atRSZ33 is a regulator of its own expression, as splicing of its pre-mRNA is changed in transgenic plants. Investigations by promoter-β-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion and in situ hybridization revealed that atRSZ33 is expressed during embryogenesis and early stages of seedling formation, as well as in flower and root development. Ectopic expression of atRSZ33 caused pleiotropic changes in plant developme...

Controlling microtubule dynamics and spatial organization is a fundamental requirement of eukaryotic cell function. Members of the ORBIT/MAST/CLASP family of microtubule-associated proteins associate with the plus ends of microtubules, where they promote the addition of tubulin subunits into attached kinetochore fibers during mitosis and stabilize microtubules in the vicinity of the plasma membrane during interphase. To date, nothing is known about their function in plants. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis thaliana CLASP protein is a microtubule-associated protein that is involved in both cell division and cell expansion. Green fluorescent protein–CLASP localizes along the full length of microtubules and shows enrichment at growing plus ends. Our analysis suggests that CLASP promotes microtubule stability. clasp-1 T-DNA insertion mutants are hypersensitive to microtubule-destabilizing drugs and exhibit more sparsely populated, yet well ordered, root cortical microtubule arrays. Ov...

Materials and Methods: Micro-dissected normal human urothelium explants were grown on porous membranes pretreated with various matrix components. Between 5 and 30 days of culture, cell proliferation was assessed by BrdU incorporation. Differentiation was evaluated on the ...

Control of organ size is the product of coordinated cell division and expansion. In plants where one of these pathways is perturbed, organ size is often unaffected as compensation mechanisms are brought into play. The number of founder cells in organ primordia, dividing cells, and the period of cell proliferation determine cell number in lateral organs. We have identified the Antirrhinum FORMOSA (FO) gene as a specific regulator of floral size. Analysis of cell size and number in the fo mutant, which has increased flower size, indicates that FO is an organ-specific inhibitor of cell division and activator of cell expansion. Increased cell number in fo floral organs correlated with upregulation of genes involved in the cell cycle. In Arabidopsis the AINTEGUMENTA (ANT) gene promotes cell division. In the fo mutant increased cell number also correlates with upregulation of an Antirrhinum ANT-like gene (Am-ANT) in inflorescences that is very closely related to ANT and shares a similar expression pattern, suggesting that they may be functional equivalents. Increased cell proliferation is thought to be compensated for by reduced cell expansion to maintain organ size. In Arabidopsis petal cell expansion is inhibited by the BIGPETAL (BPE) gene, and in the fo mutant reduced cell size corresponded to upregulation of an Antirrhinum BPE-like gene (Am-BPE). Our data suggest that FO inhibits cell proliferation by negatively regulating Am-ANT, and acts upstream of Am-BPE to coordinate floral organ size. This demonstrates that organ size is modulated by the organ-specific control of both general and local gene networks.