Abstract
As sessile organisms, plants constantly face challenges from the external environment. In order to meet these challenges and survive, plants have evolved a set of sophisticated adaptation strategies, including changes in leaf morphology and epidermal cell development. These developmental patterns are regulated by both light and hormonal signaling pathways. However, our mechanistic understanding of the role of these signaling pathways in regulating plant response to environmental stress is still very limited. By applying single-cell RNA-Seq, we determined the expression pattern of PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR (PIF) 1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF5 genes in leaf epidermal pavement cells (PCs) and guard cells (GCs). PCs and GCs are very sensitive to environmental stress, and our previous research suggests that these PIFs may be involved in regulating the development of PCs, GCs, and leaf morphology under environmental stress. Growth analysis showed that pif1/3/4/5 quadruple mutant maintained tolerance to drought and salt stress, and the length to width ratio of leaves and petiole length under normal growth conditions were similar to those of wild-type (WT) plants under drought and salt treatment. Analysis of the developmental patterns of PCs and GCs, and whole leaf morphology, further confirmed that these PIFs may be involved in mediating the development of epidermal cells under drought and salt stress, likely by regulating the expression of MUTE and TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM) genes. These results provide new insights into the molecular mechanism of plant adaptation to adverse growth environments.
Highlights
In our previous single-cell RNA sequencing study on cotyledon stomatal lineage cells, we found that PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) and PIF5 are highly expressed in Meristemoid mother cells (MMCs) and guard cells (GCs) and that they are key transcription factors that mediate the development of stomatal lineage cells [42]
From the the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), we found that PIF1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF5 were expressed in both pavement cells (PCs) and
DEGs, we found that PIF1, PIF3, PIF4, and PIF5 were expressed in both PCs and stomatal matal lineage cell populations, such as MMC, early stage meristemoid (EM), and late stage meristemoid (LM) (Figure 1), suggesting lineage cell populations, such as MMC, EM, and LM (Figure 1), suggesting that these PIFs these PIFs may be involved in regulating the development of PC and GC
Summary
The growth and development of plants are continually challenged by diverse environmental stressors, both biotic and abiotic [1–5]. Drought, and extreme temperature are the principal abiotic stress factors, which strongly affect the photosynthetic capacity, mineral utilization efficiency, pollen vitality, seed quality, and yield of higher plants [6–10]. In order to survive and successfully reproduce, plants have evolved sophisticated strategies for perceiving and appropriately adjusting to these environmental challenges [1,2,11,12]. Among these stress response mechanisms, two main strategies can be distinguished: stress resistance and stress tolerance. Resistance refers to plants’ mechanisms for preemptively avoiding a stressor. Tolerance refers to mechanisms that allow plants to grow and reproduce despite experiencing stress
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