The GLABRA2 homeodomain protein directly regulates CESA5 and XTH17 gene expression in Arabidopsis roots

Arabidopsis root hair formation is determined by the patterning genes CAPRICE ( CPC ), GLABRA3 ( GL3 ), WEREWOLF ( WER ) and GLABRA2 ( GL2 ), but little is known about the later changes in cell wall material during root hair formation. A combined Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy–principal components analysis (FTIR-PCA) method was used to detect subtle differences in the cell wall material between wild-type and root hair mutants in Arabidopsis. Among several root hair mutants, only the gl2 mutation affected root cell wall polysaccharides. Five of the 10 genes encoding cellulose synthase ( CESA1 – 10 ) and 4 of 33 xyloglucan endotransglucosylase ( XTH1 – 33 ) genes in Arabidopsis are expressed in the root, but only CESA5 and XTH17 were affected by the gl2 mutation. The L1-box sequence located in the promoter region of these genes was recognized by the GL2 protein. These results indicate that GL2 directly regulates cell wall-related gene expression during root development.     

Role of a positive regulator of root hair development,CAPRICE, in Arabidopsis root epidermal cell differentiation

In Arabidopsis, root hairs are formed only from a set of epidermal cells named trichoblasts or hair-forming cells. Previous studies showed CAPRICE (CPC) promotes differentiation of hair-forming cells by controlling a negative regulator, GLABRA2 (GL2), which is preferentially expressed in hairless cells. Here, we show that CPC is also predominantly expressed in the hairless cells, but not in the neighboring hair-forming cells, and that CPC protein moves to the hair-forming cells and represses the GL2 expression. We also show that the N terminus of bHLH protein interacts with CPC and is responsible for the GL2 expression. We propose a model in which CPC plays a key role in the fate-determination of hair-forming cells.     

Epidermal cell patterning and differentiation throughout the apical-basal axis of the seedling

The idea of common pathways guiding different fates is an emerging concept in plant development, and epidermal cell-fate specification in Arabidopsis thaliana is an excellent example to illustrate it. In the root epidermis, both hair patterning and differentiation depend on a complex interaction between both negative (WER, TTG, GL3, EGL3, and GL2) and positive (CPC, TRY, and ETC1) regulators of hair cell fate. These regulators pattern and differentiate hairs through a bi-directional signalling mechanism. The same molecular components (WER, TTG, GL3, EGL3, and GL2) seem to be involved in the patterning of stomata in the embryonic stem. However, the possible role of CPC, TRY, and ETC1 on stomatal patterning and/or differentiation has not been studied, questioning whether they, and the underlying bi-directional mechanism, guide patterning formation and differentiation in the hypocotyl.