Comparative mutant analyses reveal a novel mechanism of ARF regulation in land plants
The plant hormone auxin regulates a wide variety of transcriptional responses depending on the cell type, environment and species. How this diversity is achieved may be related to the specific complement of auxin-signalling components in each cell. The levels of activators (class-A AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORS) and repressors (class-B ARFs) are particularly important. Tight regulation of ARF protein levels is probably key in determining this balance. Through comparative analysis of novel, dominant mutants in maize and the moss Physcomitrium patens, we have discovered a ~500-million-year-old mechanism of class-B ARF protein-level regulation mediated by proteasome degradation, important in determining cell fate decisions across land plants. Thus, our results add a key piece to the puzzle of how auxin regulates plant development.
Authors
- Nicholas Morffy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3170-2032)
- Lucia C. Strader (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7600-7204)
- Annis Richardson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2061-4902)
- María Jazmín Abraham‐Juárez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5468-8176)
- Meirav Lavy
- Michael J. Prigge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0671-2538)
- Whitnie Szutu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2083-7241)
- Trisha McAllister (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8819-1873)
- Sarah Hake (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6953-1529)
- Mark Estelle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2613-8652)
- Heather Jones
- Kjel Andrew Johnson
- Nicole Do
- A. Neve
Institutions
- Duke University (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Plant Gene Expression Center (US)
- Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Plants
- Published
- 2025-04-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-01973-3
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- Plant Molecular Biology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 19.25
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- University of Dundee
- Oregon State University
- UK Research and Innovation
- Royal Society
- National Institutes of Health
- University of California, San Diego
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Wageningen University and Research