An AINTEGUMENTA phosphoswitch controls bilateral stem cell activity during secondary growth
Plant stem cells have the remarkable ability to give rise to distinct tissues and organs throughout development. Two concentric cylinders of actively dividing stem cells are the main drivers of radial thickening during secondary growth, each producing distinct vascular cell types toward the inside and the outside. While the molecular mechanisms underlying their initiation have been well studied, it remains unclear how these stem cell layers determine which cell type is generated. Here, we demonstrate that the cross-talk between the ERECTA (ER) receptor pathway and auxin signaling controls the amount and choice of output tissue in these two stem cell regions. Mechanistically, we show that the ER pathway phosphorylates the transcription factor AINTEGUMENTA (ANT), thereby modulating bilateral stem cell activity and favoring the differentiation of only one type of cell. Our results thus show that the phosphorylation status of ANT regulates root girth and biomass accumulation by influencing bilateral stem cell production. This highlights the critical role of posttranslational modifications in plant growth and development.
Authors
- Ling Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4425-9770)
- Bert De Rybel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9551-042X)
- Houming Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8828-2549)
- Yingjing Miao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1764-573X)
- Shulin Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7231-3415)
- Wei Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6392-5866)
- Martin Bayer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5806-2253)
- Laura Ragni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3651-8966)
- Dagmar Ripper
- Shan Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4659-1347)
- David Molina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5858-3331)
- Hengqi Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3210-6993)
Institutions
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- University of Freiburg (DE)
- Biocon (Switzerland) (CH)
- Flemish Community (BE)
- Beijing Botanical Garden (CN)
- Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (BE)
- Ghent University (BE)
- Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (DE)
- Institute of Plant Molecular Biology (CZ)
- VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology (BE)
- South China Botanical Garden (CN)
- University of Tübingen (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2025-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510538122
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Plant Molecular Biology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.50
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft