Rice and Arabidopsis use the same signal to grow roots
Lai JK, Jhang JN, Yen HC, Cho HY, Hsiao YC
Plant Signaling
Stronger, better-regulated root systems mean plants that pull water and nutrients more efficiently, so understanding this shared growth switch could eventually lead to sturdier, more drought-resilient crops and garden plants.
Plant roots have a growth zone near the tip packed with dividing cells, and a tiny protein signal called RGF1 helps keep that zone active by triggering a burst of reactive molecules inside the cells. Researchers discovered that rice has its own version of this signal that works almost identically to the one in Arabidopsis, a small mustard plant used as a lab model. When they knocked out the rice version, roots grew shorter and had fewer dividing cells, but adding back a lab-made version of the peptide fixed the problem, showing this growth system has been conserved since rice and Arabidopsis split onto separate evolutionary paths.
Key Findings
CRISPR/Cas9-generated Osrgf1-1 rice mutants had shorter seminal roots, smaller root meristems, and reduced superoxide accumulation compared to wild type.
Synthetic OsRGF1-1 peptide restored seminal root growth and superoxide levels in mutants at low concentrations but had no effect on wild-type plants.
OsRGF1-1 was perceived by Arabidopsis RGFR receptor machinery, demonstrating the RGF1-receptor-ROS module is conserved between monocots (rice) and dicots (Arabidopsis).
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found that a plant hormone-like peptide controls root growth the same way in rice as it does in Arabidopsis, using a burst of reactive oxygen molecules to keep root tips growing. This shows a 150-million-year-old signaling system still works the same way across very different plant families, which could help breed better crops with stronger root systems.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Conserved RGF1 peptide signaling regulates root meristem development through ROS in Arabidopsis and rice.
The root meristem is essential for stem cell maintenance and root development in plants. In Arabidopsis, Root meristem Growth Factor (RGF) peptides and their receptors regulate root meristem size t...
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