Diffusible repression of cytokinin signalling produces endodermal symmetry and passage cells

Tonni Grube Andersen*, Sadaf Naseer, Robertas Ursache, Brecht Wybouw, Wouter Smet, Bert De Rybel, Joop E.M. Vermeer, Niko Geldner

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    93 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    In vascular plants, the root endodermis surrounds the central vasculature as a protective sheath that is analogous to the polarized epithelium in animals, and contains ring-shaped Casparian strips that restrict diffusion. After an initial lag phase, individual endodermal cells suberize in an apparently random fashion to produce 'patchy' suberization that eventually generates a zone of continuous suberin deposition. Casparian strips and suberin lamellae affect paracellular and transcellular transport, respectively. Most angiosperms maintain some isolated cells in an unsuberized state as so-called 'passage cells', which have previously been suggested to enable uptake across an otherwise-impermeable endodermal barrier. Here we demonstrate that these passage cells are late emanations of a meristematic patterning process that reads out the underlying non-radial symmetry of the vasculature. This process is mediated by the non-cell-autonomous repression of cytokinin signalling in the root meristem, and leads to distinct phloem- and xylem-pole-associated endodermal cells. The latter cells can resist abscisic acid-dependent suberization to produce passage cells. Our data further demonstrate that, during meristematic patterning, xylem-pole-associated endodermal cells can dynamically alter passage-cell numbers in response to nutrient status, and that passage cells express transporters and locally affect the expression of transporters in adjacent cortical cells.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)529-533
    Number of pages5
    JournalNature
    Volume555
    Issue number7697
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Mar 22 2018

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2018 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General

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