Functional Characterization of Fer-Ts, a Temperature-Sensitive FERONIA Mutant Allele That Alters Root Hair Growth
May 2020
in “
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
”
Studysummary In this study, researchers identified a temperature-sensitive mutation in the FERONIA gene of plants that prevents root hair formation at elevated temperatures, highlighting its role in maintaining root hair growth and response to plant hormones.
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The study focused on the fer-ts mutant, a temperature-sensitive variant of the FERONIA gene, which affected root hair growth in plants. At normal temperatures (20°C), fer-ts seedlings developed normally, but at elevated temperatures (30°C), they failed to form root hairs. The mutation involved a G41S substitution in the extracellular domain of FERONIA, leading to increased protein turnover at higher temperatures. While both wild-type and fer-ts mutants showed inhibited tip-growth with RALF1 peptides at normal temperatures, fer-ts mutants were resistant to RALF1 at elevated temperatures. Additionally, fer-ts seedlings exhibited altered ROS accumulation and mimicked constitutive fer mutant responses to various plant hormones at higher temperatures. The study suggested that the fer-ts phenotypes might not be directly due to loss of RALF1 peptide binding, as the mutated glycine was not in the known binding domains.
