Abstract
Cell wall integrity control in plants involves multiple signaling modules that are mostly defined by genetic interactions. The putative co-receptors FEI1 and FEI2 and the extracellular glycoprotein FLA4 present the core components of a signaling pathway that acts in response to environmental conditions and insults to cell wall structure to modulate the balance of various growth regulators and, ultimately, to regulate the performance of the primary cell wall. Although the previously established genetic interactions are presently not matched by intermolecular binding studies, numerous receptor-like molecules that were identified in genome-wide interaction studies potentially contribute to the signaling machinery around the FLA4-FEI core. Apart from its function throughout the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana for the homeostasis of growth and stress responses, the FLA4-FEI pathway might support important agronomic traits in crop plants.
Highlights
A relatively new field of signaling research in plants was arguably kicked off by the publication of an article on the crucial importance for cell wall integrity (CWI) for many aspects of plant life [1]
Similar to CWI signaling in yeast and extracellular matrix (ECM) signaling in animals, plant CWI-signaling modules most likely act both outside-in as well as inside-out
FASCICLINLIKE ARABINOGALACTAN PROTEIN 4 (FLA4), I envisage that FEIs might be important co-receptors in larger receptor complexes, the precise composition of which might vary from tissue to tissue
Summary
A relatively new field of signaling research in plants was arguably kicked off by the publication of an article on the crucial importance for cell wall integrity (CWI) for many aspects of plant life [1]. The enormous structural and developmental heterogeneity of cell walls pose particular challenges to the investigation of CWI signaling, there already exist numerous receptor molecules and signal transduction elements that were proposed to act in this process [6,7,8,9,10,11]. The term CWI sensing is sometimes overenthusiastically applied to an observed phenomenon involving mutations in a receptor-like molecule that somehow affect cell walls. Similar to CWI signaling in yeast and ECM signaling in animals, plant CWI-signaling modules most likely act both outside-in (to sense the mechano-chemical status of the cell wall) as well as inside-out (to modify the cell wall function according to developmental needs and stress). For the first time in a dedicated review, I will focus on the FLA4-FEI pathway in an attempt to summarize presently available evidence into an updated working model of its role for CWI control
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