title: Mechanical stress contributes to the expression of the STM homeobox gene in Arabidopsis shoot meristems.
abstract: The role of mechanical signals in cell identity determination remains poorly explored in tissues. Furthermore, because mechanical stress is widespread, mechanical signals are difficult to uncouple from biochemical-based transduction pathways. Here we focus on the homeobox gene SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM), a master regulator and marker of meristematic identity in Arabidopsis. We found that STM expression is quantitatively correlated to curvature in the saddle-shaped boundary domain of the shoot apical meristem. As tissue folding reflects the presence of mechanical stress, we test and demonstrate that STM expression is induced after micromechanical perturbations. We also show that STM expression in the boundary domain is required for organ separation. While STM expression correlates with auxin depletion in this domain, auxin distribution and STM expression can also be uncoupled. STM expression and boundary identity are thus strengthened through a synergy between auxin depletion and an auxin-independent mechanotransduction pathway at the shoot apical meristem.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.|Laboratoire Joliot-Curie, Laboratoire de Physique, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Benoît
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Landrein
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.|Laboratoire Joliot-Curie, Laboratoire de Physique, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kiss
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9685-4902
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sassi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.|Laboratoire Joliot-Curie, Laboratoire de Physique, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chauvet
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.|Laboratoire Joliot-Curie, Laboratoire de Physique, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Pradeep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: INRA, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, UMR 1318, ERL CNRS 3559, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France.|AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, UMR 1318, ERL CNRS 3559, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Millan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cortizo
authors.affiliation: INRA, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, UMR 1318, ERL CNRS 3559, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France.|AgroParisTech, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, UMR 1318, ERL CNRS 3559, Saclay Plant Sciences, Versailles, France.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Laufs
authors.affiliation: Cell and Genome Biology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aida
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Traas
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Teva
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vernoux
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.|Laboratoire Joliot-Curie, Laboratoire de Physique, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Arezki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boudaoud
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Reproduction de développement des plantes, INRA, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.|Laboratoire Joliot-Curie, Laboratoire de Physique, CNRS, ENS Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hamant
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015870:Gene Expression; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018519:Meristem / Q000502:physiology*; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000502:physiology*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C097496:STM protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: STM; arabidopsis; auxin; boundary; developmental biology; homeobox; mechanical stress; meristem; plant biology; stem cells