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Why is FERONIA pleiotropic?

Nature Plants volume 9, pages 1018–1025 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

The plant cell wall has many roles: structure, hydraulics, signalling and immunity. Monitoring its status is therefore essential for plant life. Among many candidate cell wall sensors, FERONIA, a member of the Catharanthus roseus receptor-like kinase-1-like kinase (CrRLK1L) family, has received considerable attention, notably because of its numerous interactors and its implication in many biological pathways. Conversely, such an analytical dissection may blur its core function. Here we revisit the array of feronia phenotypes as an attempt to identify a unifying feature behind the plethora of biological and biochemical functions. We propose that the contribution of FERONIA in monitoring turgor-dependent cell wall tension may explain its pleiotropy.

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Fig. 1: FER, a Swiss Army knife.
Fig. 2: FER is involved in a multitude of signalling pathways.
Fig. 3: FER is responsible for cell mechanical integrity.
Fig. 4: The mechanics and hydraulics behind FER pleiotropy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Reproduction et Développement des Plantes, Université de Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCBL, INRAE, CNRS, Lyon, France

    Alice Malivert & Olivier Hamant

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  1. Alice Malivert
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  2. Olivier Hamant
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A.M. wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. A.M. and O.H. revised and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Olivier Hamant.

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Nature Plants thanks José Dinneny, Sebastian Wolf and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Malivert, A., Hamant, O. Why is FERONIA pleiotropic?. Nat. Plants 9, 1018–1025 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01434-9

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