title: Cytokinin response factors regulate PIN-FORMED auxin transporters.
abstract: Auxin and cytokinin are key endogenous regulators of plant development. Although cytokinin-mediated modulation of auxin distribution is a developmentally crucial hormonal interaction, its molecular basis is largely unknown. Here we show a direct regulatory link between cytokinin signalling and the auxin transport machinery uncovering a mechanistic framework for cytokinin-auxin cross-talk. We show that the CYTOKININ RESPONSE FACTORS (CRFs), transcription factors downstream of cytokinin perception, transcriptionally control genes encoding PIN-FORMED (PIN) auxin transporters at a specific PIN CYTOKININ RESPONSE ELEMENT (PCRE) domain. Removal of this cis-regulatory element effectively uncouples PIN transcription from the CRF-mediated cytokinin regulation and attenuates plant cytokinin sensitivity. We propose that CRFs represent a missing cross-talk component that fine-tunes auxin transport capacity downstream of cytokinin signalling to control plant development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Šimášková
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Mamoona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Giel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Noorden
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Krisztina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ötvös
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Genetics, Centre for Molecular Biology of Plants, University Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 3, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vieten
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Clercq
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, Dreijenlaan 3, 6703HA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johanna Maria Adriana
authors.initials: JMA
authors.lastname: Van Haperen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Candela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuesta
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Botany, ASCR, Rozvojová 263, 16502 Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hoyerová
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9948-9672
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vanneste
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marhavý
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wabnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Breusegem
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nowack
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Angus
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Jiří
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Friml
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, Dreijenlaan 3, 6703HA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dolf
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weijers
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.|Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beeckman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Benková
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D047369:Chromatin Immunoprecipitation; D003583:Cytokinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020218:Response Elements; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C000607387:CRF3 protein, Arabidopsis; C585525:CRF6 protein, Arabidopsis; D003583:Cytokinins; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; C116363:PIN1 protein, Arabidopsis; C479554:PIN7 protein, Arabidopsis; D014157:Transcription Factors; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins