The Genetic Control of SEEDSTICK and LEUNIG-HOMOLOG in Seed and Fruit Development: New Insights into Cell Wall Control

25 de noviembre de 2022

Les invitamos a leer el artículo: "The Genetic Control of SEEDSTICK and LEUNIG-HOMOLOG in Seed and Fruit Development: New Insights into Cell Wall Control", en el que colaboró el Dr. Stefan de Folter, Investigador de la UGA-Langebio, además del Dr. Humberto Herrera Ubaldo y el doctorando Eduardo Martínez Estrada de Biotecnología de Plantas Cinvestav.

Autores: Maurizio Di Marzo¹, Nicola Babolin¹, Vívian Ebeling Viana^1,2, Antonio Costa de Oliveira² , Bruno Gugi³, Elisabetta Caporali¹, Humberto Herrera-Ubaldo⁴, Eduardo Martínez-Estrada⁴, Azeddine Driouich^3,5, Stefan de Folter⁴ , Lucia Colombo¹ and Ignacio Ezquer¹.

1. Dipartimento di Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
2. Plant Genomics and Breeding Center, Federal University of Pelotas, Capão do Leão 96010-610, RS, Brazil
3. Laboratoire Glycobiologie et Matrice Extracellulaire Végétale EA4358, UNIROUEN—Universitè de Rouen Normandie, 76000 Rouen, France
4. Unidad de Genómica Avanzada (UGA-LANGEBIO), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV-IPN), Km. 9.6 Libramiento Norte, Carretera Irapuato-León, Irapuato 36824, Guanajuato, Mexico
5. Fédération de Recherche “NORVEGE”-FED 4277, 76000 Rouen, France

Felicitamos al estudiantado y profesorado que contribuyeron en esta investigación por su arduo trabajo.

Abstract: Although much is known about seed and fruit development at the molecular level, many gaps remain in our understanding of how cell wall modifications can impact developmental processes in plants, as well as how biomechanical alterations influence seed and fruit growth. Mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana constitute an excellent tool to study the function of gene families devoted to cell wall biogenesis. We have characterized a collection of lines carrying mutations in representative cell wall-related genes for seed and fruit size developmental defects, as well as altered germination rates. We have linked these studies to cell wall composition and structure. Interestingly, we have found that disruption of genes involved in pectin maturation and hemicellulose deposition strongly influence germination dynamics. Finally, we focused on two transcriptional regulators, SEEDSTICK (STK) and LEUNIG-HOMOLOG (LUH), which positively regulate seed growth. Herein, we demonstrate that these factors regulate specific aspects of cell wall properties such as pectin distribution. We propose a model wherein changes in seed coat structure due to alterations in the xyloglucan-cellulose matrix deposition and pectin maturation are critical for organ growth and germination. The results demonstrate the importance of cell wall properties and remodeling of polysaccharides as major factors responsible for seed development.

Keywords: cell wall; transcriptional regulators; pectins; seed growth; fruit; germination.