Companion cells with high florigen production express other small proteins and reveal a nitrogen-sensitive FT repressor
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The precise onset of flowering is crucial for successful reproduction. In longer days, the florigen gene FLOWERING LOCUS T ( FT ) is induced in specific leaf phloem companion cells in Arabidopsis . However, the molecular nature of these cells remains elusive. Here, we utilized bulk nuclei RNA-seq and single nuclei RNA (snRNA)-seq to investigate transcription in FT -expressing cells and other companion cells. Our bulk nuclei RNA-seq demonstrated that FT -expressing cells in cotyledons and true leaves showed differences in FT repressor gene expression. Within true leaves, our snRNA-seq analysis revealed that companion cells with high FT expression form a unique cluster. The cluster expresses other genes encoding small proteins, including the flowering and stem growth inducer FPF1-LIKE PROTEIN 1 (FLP1) and the anti-florigen BROTHER OF FT AND TFL1 (BFT). We also found that the promoters of FT and the genes co-expressed with FT in the cluster were enriched for the binding motif of NITRATE-INDUCIBLE GARP-TYPE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR 1 (NIGT1). Overexpression of NIGT1.2 and NIGT1.4 repressed FT and delayed flowering under nitrogen-rich conditions, implying the roles of NIGT1s as nitrogen-dependent FT repressors. Taken together, our results indicate that unique FT -expressing phloem cells may produce multiple systemic signals to regulate plant growth and development.
Source: eLife
Authors: Hiroshi Takagi, Shogo Ito, Jae Sung Shim, Akane Kubota, Andrew K. Hempton, Nayoung Lee, Takamasa Suzuki, Jared S. Wong, Chansie Yang, Christine T. Nolan, Kerry L. Bubb, Cristina M. Alexandre, Daisuke Kurihara, Yoshikatsu Sato, Yasuomi Tada, Takatoshi Kiba, Jose L. Pruneda-Paz, Christine Queitsch, Josh T. Cuperus, Takato Imaizumi
Institutions: University of Washington, Bioscience and Biotechnology Center, Nagoya University, Center for Gene Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya University Institute for Advanced Research, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, Chonnam National University, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Gyeongsang National University, Chubu University, Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, University of California San Diego, RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Brotman Baty Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,500
Awards: G1006371914, PlantSynBio: Deciphering the grammar of crop regulatory DNA for precise engineering of gene expression, G2390643338, 着装行動の意識と季節感への関心度に関する女子大学生と母親の比較, G3517924523, Molecular function of the systemic reproductive growth regulator FLP1, Role of TCP transcription factors on the regulation of the circadian clock function in plants, 私生子の法的地位に関する比較法的研究, Molecular Mechanisms of Seasonal Time Measurement, Molecular mechanisms linking floral transition and stem elongation in plants, Toward a mechanistic understanding of genetic interactions
OpenAlex ID: W4401691279