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Control of Arabidopsis apical–basal embryo polarity by antagonistic transcription factors

Abstract

Plants, similarly to animals, form polarized axes during embryogenesis on which cell differentiation and organ patterning programs are orchestrated. During Arabidopsis embryogenesis, establishment of the shoot and root stem cell populations occurs at opposite ends of an apical–basal axis. Recent work has identified the PLETHORA (PLT) genes as master regulators of basal/root fate1,2,3, whereas the master regulators of apical/shoot fate have remained elusive. Here we show that the PLT1 and PLT2 genes are direct targets of the transcriptional co-repressor TOPLESS (TPL) and that PLT1/2 are necessary for the homeotic conversion of shoots to roots in tpl-1 mutants. Using tpl-1 as a genetic tool, we identify the CLASS III HOMEODOMAIN-LEUCINE ZIPPER (HD-ZIP III) transcription factors as master regulators of embryonic apical fate, and show they are sufficient to drive the conversion of the embryonic root pole into a second shoot pole. Furthermore, genetic and misexpression studies show an antagonistic relationship between the PLT and HD-ZIP III genes in specifying the root and shoot poles.

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Figure 1: Misregulation of PLT genes is necessary for tpl-1 apical to basal transformation.
Figure 2: Molecular characterization of tpl-1, phb-14d and tpl-1 phb-14d in embryos grown at 29 °C.
Figure 3: HD-ZIP III genes antagonize PLT function.
Figure 4: HD-ZIP III gene misexpression can initiate apical fate and acts antagonistically to PLT gene function.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Sewell for technical assistance with plasmid construction and microscopy; R. Biddick, B. Crawford, Y. Jaillais, N. Krogan, J. Posakony, B. VanSchooten and D. Kelley for discussions and reading of the manuscript; E. York and SIO Unified Laboratory Facility for SEM analysis. This work was supported by a Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation Career Development Award, the National Institute of Health, NIGMS (J.A.L.), Z.R.S. is a USCD Plant Systems Biology NSF-IGERT Fellow.

Author Contributions Z.R.S. collected the data. Z.R.S. and J.A.L. designed the study and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jeff A. Long.

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Smith, Z., Long, J. Control of Arabidopsis apical–basal embryo polarity by antagonistic transcription factors. Nature 464, 423–426 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08843

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