Nat Plants. 2021 Mar 8. doi: 10.1038/s41477-021-00862-9. Online ahead of print.

GDSL-domain proteins have key roles in suberin polymerization and degradation

Robertas Ursache ¹, Cristovāo De Jesus Vieira Teixeira ², Valérie Dénervaud Tendon ³, Kay Gully ³, Damien De Bellis ^3 4, Emanuel Schmid-Siegert ^5 6, Tonni Grube Andersen ^3 7, Vinay Shekhar ^2 8, Sandra Calderon ^5 9, Sylvain Pradervand ^5 9, Christiane Nawrath ³, Niko Geldner ¹⁰, Joop E M Vermeer ^11 12Affiliations expand

Abstract

Plant roots acquire nutrients and water while managing interactions with the soil microbiota. The root endodermis provides an extracellular diffusion barrier through a network of lignified cell walls called Casparian strips, supported by subsequent formation of suberin lamellae. Whereas lignification is thought to be irreversible, suberin lamellae display plasticity, which is crucial for root adaptative responses. Although suberin is a major plant polymer, fundamental aspects of its biosynthesis and turnover have remained obscure. Plants shape their root system via lateral root formation, an auxin-induced process requiring local breaking and re-sealing of endodermal lignin and suberin barriers. Here, we show that differentiated endodermal cells have a specific, auxin-mediated transcriptional response dominated by cell wall remodelling genes. We identified two sets of auxin-regulated GDSL lipases. One is required for suberin synthesis, while the other can drive suberin degradation. These enzymes have key roles in suberization, driving root suberin plasticity.

• PMID: 33686223
• DOI: 10.1038/s41477-021-00862-9