Loss-of-function mutations in the Arabidopsis heterotrimeric G-protein alpha subunit enhance the developmental defects of brassinosteroid signaling and biosynthesis mutants

Loss-of-function alleles of the sole heterotrimeric G-protein alpha subunit in Arabidopsis, GPA1, display defects in cell proliferation throughout plant development. Previous studies indicated that GPA1 is involved in brassinosteroid (BR) response. Here we provide genetic evidence that loss-of-function mutations in GPA1, gpa1-2 and gpa1-4, enhance the developmental defects of bri1-5, a weak allele of a BR receptor mutant, and det2-1, a BR-deficient mutant in Arabidopsis. gpa1-2 bri1-5 and gpa1-4 det2-1 double mutants had shorter hypocotyls, shorter roots and fewer lateral roots, and displayed more severe dwarfism than bri1-5 and det2-1 single mutants, respectively. By using the Arabidopsis hypocotyl as a model system where the parameters of cell division and cell elongation can be simultaneously measured, we found that gpa1 can specifically enhance the cell division defects of bri1-5 and det2-1 mutants. Similarly, gpa1 specifically enhances cell division defects in the primary roots of bri1-5 and det2-1 mutants. Furthermore, an additive effect on cell division between gpa1 and bri1-5 or det2-1 mutations was observed in the hypocotyls, whereas a synergistic effect was observed in the roots. Taken together, these results provided the first genetic evidence that G-protein- and BR-mediated pathways may be converged to modulate cell proliferation in a cell/tissue-specific manner.