Abstract
Plant epidermal cells, such as trichomes, root hairs, salt glands, and stomata, play pivotal roles in the growth, development, and environmental adaptation of terrestrial plants. Cell fate determination, differentiation, and the formation of epidermal structures represent basic developmental processes in multicellular organisms. Increasing evidence indicates that C2H2 zinc finger proteins play important roles in regulating the development of epidermal structures in plants and plant adaptation to unfavorable environments. Here, we systematically summarize the molecular mechanism underlying the roles of C2H2 zinc finger proteins in controlling epidermal cell formation in plants, with an emphasis on trichomes, root hairs, and salt glands and their roles in plant adaptation to environmental stress. In addition, we discuss the possible roles of homologous C2H2 zinc finger proteins in trichome development in non-halophytes and salt gland development in halophytes based on bioinformatic analysis. This review provides a foundation for further study of epidermal cell development and abiotic stress responses in plants.
Highlights
Cell differentiation and morphogenesis must occur at the correct time and place to ensure the normal growth and development of multicellular organisms (Song et al, 2019; Haas et al, 2020; Su et al, 2021)
The amino acid sequences of C2H2 zinc finger proteins from Limonium bicolor such as LbGIS, LbGIS2, LbGIS3, LbZFP5, LbZFP8, and LbZFP6 were obtained in our laboratory and are shown in Supplementary Table 1, along with the sequences from the other species mentioned above
C2H2 zinc finger proteins are integral components of the regulatory networks controlling plant epidermal cell development. These proteins interact with other factors and play unique roles in controlling trichome, root hair, salt gland, and stomatal development
Summary
Cell differentiation and morphogenesis must occur at the correct time and place to ensure the normal growth and development of multicellular organisms (Song et al, 2019; Haas et al, 2020; Su et al, 2021). Many studies have explored the molecular mechanisms involved in plant epidermal development This process is well understood for all epidermal components except salt glands. Many transcription factors play important roles in plant epidermal cell development, such as MYB transcription factors (Wang et al, 2019b; Zhang et al, 2019; Xu et al, 2021), bHLH transcription factors. C2H2 zinc finger proteins, which play important roles in a variety of biological processes, comprise the largest transcription family in plants and are widely distributed in many species (Sakamoto et al, 2004; Han et al, 2020b; Zhang et al, 2020; Yang et al, 2021). We review recent progress in our understanding of the roles of C2H2 zinc finger proteins in regulating plant epidermal cell development, focusing on several members of this large protein family
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