Control of lateral root initiation by DA3 in Arabidopsis

Lateral root (LR) initiation is controlled by the pericycle and the neighboring endodermis in Arabidopsis. Here, we demonstrate that UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE14/DA3 regulates LR initiation by modulating auxin signaling in the pericycle and endodermis. DA3 negatively affects the mRNA and protein levels of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR7 (ARF7) and ARF19 in the pericycle and endodermis but positively regulates the protein stability of SHORT HYPOCOTYL 2 (SHY2/IAA3), an auxin signaling repressor, in the endodermis. We show that DA3 interacts with ARF7 and ARF19, inhibiting their binding to the locus of LATERAL ORGAN BOUND-ARY DOMAIN16 (LBD16) to repress its expression in the pericycle. SHY2 also interacts with ARF7 and ARF19 in the endodermis and enhances the DA3 repressive effect on ARF7 and ARF19, thus modulating LBD16 expression in the pericycle. Overall, our findings show that DA3 acts with SHY2, ARF7, and ARF19 to coor-dinate auxin signaling in the pericycle and endodermis to control LR initiation in Arabidopsis.

Automated summary

DA3 regulates lateral root initiation by modulating auxin signaling in the pericycle and endodermis. It negatively affects the levels of ARF7 and ARF19, but positively regulates the stability of SHY2/IAA3. DA3 inhibits the binding of ARF7 and ARF19 to LBD16, repressing its expression in the pericycle. Overall, DA3 acts with SHY2, ARF7, and ARF19 to coordinate auxin signaling and control lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis.