A group of CLE peptides regulates de novo shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana

Authors: KANG, JINGKE - Shaanxi Normal University; WANG, XUENING - Shaanxi Normal University; ISHIDA, TAKASHI - Kumamoto University; GRIENENBERGER, E - University Of California; ZHENG, QIAN - Shaanxi Normal University; WANG, JING - Shaanxi Normal University; ZHANG, Y - Hubei University; CHEN, WENQIANG - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; CHEN, MENGMENG - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; SONG, XIU-FEN - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; WU, CHENYUN - Henan University; HU, ZHUBING - Henan University; JIA, L - Shaanxi Normal University; LI, CHEN - Hubei University; LIU, CHUN-MING - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; Fletcher, Jennifer; SAWA, SHINICHIRO - Kumamoto University; WANG, GUODONG - Shaanxi Normal University

Submitted to: New Phytologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/22/2022
Publication Date: 6/1/2022
Citation: Kang, J., Wang, X., Ishida, T., Grienenberger, E., Zheng, Q., Wang, J., Zhang, Y., Chen, W., Chen, M., Song, X., Wu, C., Hu, Z., Jia, L., Li, C., Liu, C., Fletcher, J.C., Sawa, S., Wang, G. 2022. A group of CLE peptides regulates de novo shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana. New Phytologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18291.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18291

Interpretive Summary: The ability of plants to regenerate complete shoot systems from small fragments of tissues or cells is critical for most tissue culture techniques used in plant breeding, which enable the propagation of a variety of crops including trees as well as many endangered plant species. Shoot regeneration requires the formation of new stem cell reservoirs to form shoots, yet only a few factors that control this process are known. Here we show that a set of related small signaling molecules, called CLE1-CLE7, control the number of shoots that can be formed by Arabidopsis plants in tissue culture. Our study identifies a novel set of key regulatory factors that can be targeted in crop species to improve breeding programs by enhancing shoot regeneration and plant survival.

Technical Abstract: In plants, small signaling peptides that direct cell-cell communication have been demonstrated to be essential for plant growth, development, and environmental responsiveness (Wang et al., 2016). The CLAVATA3/ESR-related (CLE) family, for example, is one of the best-studied peptide families in plants. A number of CLE signaling modules, which commonly comprise CLE peptides, receptor-like kinases (RLKs), and downstream WUSCHEL(WUS)-related HOMEOBOX (WOX) transcription factors, have been characterized (Miyawaki et al., 2013). Cumulative advances have illustrated that the CLE-RLK-WOX modules are primarily implicated in orchestrating stem cell homeostasis of plant meristems such as the shoot apical meristem (SAM), the root apical meristem, the vascular meristem, and the nodule meristem (Miyawaki et al., 2013). Notably, in the SAM CLV3 is sensed by CLV1-containing receptor complex, subsequently restrict the expression of stem cell-promoting factor WUS, which in turn activates CLV3 expression, creating a negative feedback regulatory loop (Brand et al., 2000; Schoof et al., 2000). Plant regeneration, a process displaying remarkable developmental plasticity allowing plants for successful acclimatization to changing physiological conditions and external stimuli, involves reconstitution of stem cells and de novo SAM initiation (Sang et al., 2018). Accordingly, we speculate whether any CLE peptide(s) could act in a CLV3-like pathway in controlling reconstitution of stem cells and/or nascent SAM initiation during plant regeneration.