COP1 mediates the coordination of root and shoot growth by light through modulation of PIN1- and PIN2-dependent auxin transport in Arabidopsis.
When a plant germinates in the soil, elongation of stem-like organs is enhanced whereas leaf and root growth is inhibited. How these differential growth responses are orchestrated by light and integrated at the organismal level to shape the plant remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that light signals through the master photomorphogenesis repressor COP1 to coordinate root and shoot growth in Arabidopsis. In the shoot, COP1 regulates shoot-to-root auxin transport by controlling the transcription of the auxin efflux carrier gene PIN-FORMED1 (PIN1), thus appropriately tuning shoot-derived auxin levels in the root. This in turn directly influences root elongation and adapts auxin transport and cell proliferation in the root apical meristem by modulating PIN1 and PIN2 intracellular distribution in the root in a COP1-dependent fashion, thus permitting a rapid and precise tuning of root growth to the light environment. Our data identify auxin as a long-distance signal in developmental adaptation to light and illustrate how spatially separated control mechanisms can converge on the same signaling system to coordinate development at the whole plant level.
CNRS, INRA, ENS Lyon, UCBL, Université de Lyon, Laboratoire de Reproduction et Développement des Plantes, 46 Allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
Massimiliano
M
Sassi
Yanfen
Y
Lu
Yonghong
Y
Zhang
Juan
J
Wang
Pankaj
P
Dhonukshe
Ikram
I
Blilou
Minqiu
M
Dai
Juan
J
Li
Ximing
X
Gong
Yvon
Y
Jaillais
Xuhong
X
Yu
Jan
J
Traas
Ida
I
Ruberti
Haiyang
H
Wang
Ben
B
Scheres
Teva
T
Vernoux
Jian
J
Xu
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001692:Biological Transport / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D008027:Light; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000528:radiation effects; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; C116363:PIN1 protein, Arabidopsis; C117013:AT5G57090 protein, Arabidopsis; C471983:AT2G32950 protein, Arabidopsis