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Mechanical load induces upregulation of transcripts for a set of genes implicated in secondary wall formation in the supporting tissue of Arabidopsis thaliana

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Abstract

We examined the effects of mechanical load on transcripts of a set of cell wall related genes that are implicated in the formation of supporting tissues, by applying a 50 mg strip of aluminum foil to the inflorescence stem of Arabidopsis thaliana, a weight roughly half the fresh weight of the stem. Transcript levels of 12 of the 15 genes examined were increased by load application, as were the levels of some transcription factors that regulate secondary wall formation. These findings support the involvement of a load-sensing system in regulation of supporting tissue formation via transcriptional regulation of cell wall related genes.

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Fig. 1
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Abbreviations

GUS:

β -Glucuronidase

RT-PCR:

Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ms. Kei Saito for her technical assistance in generating transgenic Arabidopsis lines. This work was supported by a grant-in-aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas (19039003) to K.N. and by a grant-in-aid for Scientific Research (B) (19370014) to K.N. and (C) (19570030) to R.Y. from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental Biology and Neurosciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan

    Kento Koizumi, Ryusuke Yokoyama & Kazuhiko Nishitani

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  1. Kento Koizumi
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  2. Ryusuke Yokoyama
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  3. Kazuhiko Nishitani
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Correspondence to Kazuhiko Nishitani.

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10265_2009_251_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Fig. S1. Promoter::GUS expression profiles of each of the 15 genes in Arabidopsis. The genes were categorized as in Fig. 1. The left side of each panel shows flowers of inflorescence stems that reached a length of 100 mm, while the right side shows the third or fourth leaf of a 2-week-old plant. Most genes were expressed in anthers and leaf vessels. Bar 1 mm (TIFF 6035 kb)

10265_2009_251_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Fig. S2. Effects of load application on promoter::GUS expression patterns for CesA7 (a, b) and CesA4 (c, d) genes. A 15 mg (a, c) or 50 mg (b, d) of half-folded aluminum foil weight was attached to the inflorescence stem as shown in Fig. 1d. After the plants were allowed to grow for 2 days, region I (Fig. 1d) of the inflorescence was cross-sectioned and subjected to GUS staining. No apparent change in the expression pattern of the two genes was observed. Bar 200 μm (TIFF 2720 kb)

10265_2009_251_MOESM3_ESM.tif

Fig. S3. Promoter::GUS expression patterns of CesA7 (a–d) and CesA4 (e–h) along the inflorescence stem, 50 mm (a, e), 100 mm (b, f), 150 mm (c, g) and 200 mm (d, h) below the apex. Note that each of the two genes exhibits similar tissue specific expression pattern among the four regions along developmental stages of the inflorescence stem. Bar 200 μm (TIFF 5045 kb)

10265_2009_251_MOESM4_ESM.tif

Fig. S4. Effects of load application on histological pattern of the inflorescence stem. A 50 mg (a) or 15 mg (b) of half-folded aluminum foil weight was attached as shown in Fig. 1d. After the plants were allowed to grow for 5 days, region I (Fig. 1d) of the inflorescence stem was cross-sectioned and subjected to staining with 2% phloroglucinol-HCl to visualize tissues with secondary wall deposition. Bar 200 μm (TIFF 1775 kb)

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Koizumi, K., Yokoyama, R. & Nishitani, K. Mechanical load induces upregulation of transcripts for a set of genes implicated in secondary wall formation in the supporting tissue of Arabidopsis thaliana . J Plant Res 122, 651–659 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-009-0251-7

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