Arabidopsis JACKDAW and MAGPIE zinc finger proteins delimit asymmetric cell division and stabilize tissue boundaries by restricting SHORT-ROOT action.
In the Arabidopsis root, the SHORT-ROOT transcription factor moves outward to the ground tissue from its site of transcription in the stele and is required for the specification of the endodermis and the stem cell organizing quiescent center cells. In addition, SHORT-ROOT and the downstream transcription factor SCARECROW control an oriented cell division in ground tissue stem cell daughters. Here, we show that the JACKDAW and MAGPIE genes, which encode members of a plant-specific family of zinc finger proteins, act in a SHR-dependent feed-forward loop to regulate the range of action of SHORT-ROOT and SCARECROW. JACKDAW expression is initiated independent of SHORT-ROOT and regulates the SCARECROW expression domain outside the stele, while MAGPIE expression depends on SHORT-ROOT and SCARECROW. We provide evidence that JACKDAW and MAGPIE regulate tissue boundaries and asymmetric cell division and can control SHORT-ROOT and SCARECROW activity in a transcriptional and protein interaction network.
Welch
David
D
Molecular Genetics Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Hassan
Hala
H
Blilou
Ikram
I
Immink
Richard
R
Heidstra
Renze
R
Scheres
Ben
B
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D002455:Cell Division; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology*