MirMAN-mediated mannose promotes root development in Arabidopsis via the MYB41-DWF4 module regulating brassinosteroid signaling pathways.
Li H, Jin X, Rong M, Guo S, Yang C
Plant Signaling
Crops engineered with more branching, deeper roots could pull water and nutrients from soil more efficiently during droughts — and this sugar-activated genetic switch is a concrete, targetable lever to get there.
When a special enzyme breaks down tough plant cell-wall material, it releases a sugar called mannose that acts like a signal flare inside the plant, telling roots to grow more side branches and push deeper into the soil. That sugar message gets passed along a chain of growth hormones — first auxin, then a second hormone called brassinosteroid — with a protein called MYB41 acting as the key go-between that links the sugar signal to hormone production. Plants engineered without MYB41 had noticeably fewer root branches and less of that growth hormone, confirming this chain is real and essential.
Key Findings
Mannose released by the MirMAN enzyme significantly promoted both lateral root emergence and root elongation in thale cress, while raising endogenous auxin levels and upregulating at least six auxin-response and lateral-root development genes.
The transcription factor MYB41 was strongly induced by mannose and directly bound the promoter of DWF4 — a brassinosteroid biosynthesis gene — positively regulating its transcription and downstream hormone production.
Mutant plants lacking MYB41 had fewer lateral roots, reduced DWF4 expression, and measurably lower brassinosteroid content, establishing MYB41 as the critical molecular bridge between sugar signaling and hormone-driven root architecture.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered that a sugar called mannose — released by an enzyme borrowed from four o'clock flowers — triggers a hormone signaling chain in plants that drives root branching and elongation. The mechanism runs through a genetic switch (MYB41) that activates brassinosteroid hormone production, revealing a previously unknown sugar-to-hormone relay governing root architecture.
Abstract Preview
Sugars serve both as nutritional sources and signaling entities in plant root systems, engaging in crosstalk with phytohormones to modulate root morphogenesis and growth. Previous investigations de...
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Arabidopsis thaliana, the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally considered a weed.