Publication details
Directional Auxin Transport Mechanisms in Early Diverging Land Plants
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Current Biology |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982214012196 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.056 |
| Field | Genetics and molecular biology |
| Keywords | MOSS PHYSCOMITRELLA-PATENS; ARABIDOPSIS-THALIANA; RESISTANT MUTANTS; PIN PROTEINS; EVOLUTION; GENE; HOMEOSTASIS; ORIGINS; EFFLUX; CELLS |
| Description | The emergence and radiation of multicellular land plants was driven by crucial innovations to their body plans [1]. The directional transport of the phytohormone auxin represents a key, plant-specific mechanism for polarization and patterning in complex seed plants [2-5]. Here, we show that already in the early diverging land plant lineage, as exemplified by the moss Physcomitrella patens, auxin transport by PIN transporters is operational and diversified into ER-localized and plasma membrane-localized PIN proteins. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function analyses revealed that PIN-dependent intercellular auxin transport in Physcomitrella mediates crucial developmental transitions in tip-growing filaments and waves of polarization and differentiation in leaf-like structures. Plasma membrane PIN proteins localize in a polar manner to the tips of moss filaments, revealing an unexpected relation between polarization mechanisms in moss tip-growing cells and multicellular tissues of seed plants. Our results trace the origins of polarization and auxin-mediated patterning mechanisms and highlight the crucial role of polarized auxin transport during the evolution of multicellular land plants. |