The transcription factor BELLRINGER modulates phyllotaxis by regulating the expression of a pectin methylesterase in Arabidopsis
2011
Peaucelle, Alexis, A. | Louvet, Romain, R. | Johansen, Jorunn Nergaard, J. N. | Salsac, Fabien, F. | Morin, Halima, H. | Fournet, Françoise | Belcram, Katia, K. | Gillet, Françoise | Hoefte, Herman, H. | Laufs, Patrick, P. | Mouille, Gregory, G. | Pelloux, Jerome, J. | Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech | Biologie des Plantes et Innovation - UR UPJV 3900 (BIOPI) ; Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV) | This work was supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche [grants ANR-09-BLANC-0007-01 GROWPEC and ANR-10-BLAN-1516 MECHASTEM].
Plant leaves and flowers are positioned along the stem in a regular pattern. This pattern, which is referred to as phyllotaxis, is generated through the precise emergence of lateral organs and is controlled by gradients of the plant hormone auxin. This pattern is actively maintained during stem growth through controlled cell proliferation and elongation. The formation of new organs is known to depend on changes in cell wall chemistry, in particular the demethylesterification of homogalacturonans, one of the main pectic components. Here we report a dual function for the homeodomain transcription factor BELLRINGER (BLR) in the establishment and maintenance of the phyllotactic pattern in Arabidopsis. BLR is required for the establishment of normal phyllotaxis through the exclusion of pectin methylesterase PME5 expression from the meristem dome and for the maintenance of phyllotaxis through the activation of PME5 in the elongating stem. These results provide new insights into the role of pectin demethylesterification in organ initiation and cell elongation and identify an important component of the regulation mechanism involved.
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