Journal
DEVELOPMENT
Volume 137, Issue 22, Pages 3911-3920Publisher
COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/dev.048199
Keywords
Arabidopsis; Meristem; CLAVATA3 signalling pathway; Receptor-like kinase
Categories
Funding
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Japan Society of the Promotion of Science [19677001]
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, Technology [19060009, 20061004, 19060016]
- Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [19060009, 20061004, 19677001] Funding Source: KAKEN
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The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is the fundamental structure that is located at the growing tip and gives rise to all aerial parts of plant tissues and organs, such as leaves, stems and flowers. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the CLAVATA3 (CLV3) pathway regulates the stem cell pool in the SAM, in which a small peptide ligand derived from CLV3 is perceived by two major receptor complexes, CLV1 and CLV2-CORYNE (CRN)/SUPPRESSOR OF LLP1 2 (SOL2), to restrict WUSCHEL (WUS) expression. In this study, we used the functional, synthetic CLV3 peptide (MCLV3) to isolate CLV3-insensitive mutants and revealed that a receptor-like kinase, RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEIN KINASE 2 (RPK2), also known as TOADSTOOL 2 (TOAD2), is another key regulator of meristem maintenance. Mutations in the RPK2 gene result in stem cell expansion and increased number of floral organs, as seen in the other clv mutants. These phenotypes are additive with both clv1 and clv2 mutations. Moreover, our biochemical analyses using Nicotiana benthamiana revealed that RPK2 forms homo-oligomers but does not associate with CLV1 or CLV2. These genetic and biochemical findings suggest that three major receptor complexes, RPK2 homomers, CLV1 homomers and CLV2-CRN/SOL2 heteromers, are likely to mediate three signalling pathways, mainly in parallel but with potential crosstalk, to regulate the SAM homeostasis.
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