Abstract
BackgroundNarciclasine (NCS) is an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid isolated from Narcissus tazetta bulbs. NCS has inhibitory effects on a broad range of biological activities and thus has various potential practical applications. Here we examine how NCS represses plant root growth.ResultsResults showed that the inhibition of NCS on cell division in Arabidopsis root tips and its effects on cell differentiation are concentration-dependent; at low concentrations (0.5 and 1.0 μM) NCS preferentially targets mitotic cell cycle specific/cyclin complexes, whereas at high concentration (5.0 μM) the NCS-stimulated accumulation of Kip-related proteins (KRP1 and RP2) affects the CDK complexes with a role at both G1/S and G2/M phases.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that NCS modulates the coordination between cell division and differentiation in Arabidopsis root tips and hence affects the postembryonic development of Arabidopsis seedlings.
Highlights
Narciclasine (NCS) is an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid isolated from Narcissus tazetta bulbs
Effects of NCS on postembryonic development of Arabidopsis roots To study the effects of NCS on the development of Arabidopsis, we first tested the effects of various concentrations of NCS on the germination rate of wild type (WT) Arabidopsis seeds
Together with the data on cell differentiation and expression of E2Fa downstream genes in Arabidopsis root tips, these results indicate that Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK)/cyclin complexes with roles in both cell division and differentiation are impaired by 5.0 μM NCS treatment, whereas the mitotic CDK complexes are mainly targeted by NCS at 0.5 μM
Summary
Narciclasine (NCS) is an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid isolated from Narcissus tazetta bulbs. We examine how NCS represses plant root growth. The growth and development of multicellular organisms depends on the spatiotemporal coordination of cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and subsequent cell specialization [1]. Meristematic tissues provide new cells for growth at both ends of the main body axis. Stem cells in the root meristem generate transit-amplifying cells, which undergo additional divisions in the proximal meristem, and differentiate in the meristem transition zone that encompasses the boundary between dividing and expanding cells in different cell files. The balances between cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest and differentiation to maintain the organogenetic program depend on the coordination of gene expression, posttranslational modification, and specific proteolysis of cell cycle regulators. The E2F and DP proteins interact to form active transcription factors that bind to various gene promoters and regulate the expression of genes required for cell cycle progression.
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