Abstract
SummaryThe rth3 (roothairless 3) mutant is specifically affected in root hair elongation. We report here the cloning of the rth3 gene via a PCR-based strategy (amplification of insertion mutagenized sites) and demonstrate that it encodes a COBRA-like protein that displays all the structural features of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor. Genes of the COBRA family are involved in various types of cell expansion and cell wall biosynthesis. The rth3 gene belongs to a monocot-specific clade of the COBRA gene family comprising two maize and two rice genes. While the rice (Oryza sativa) gene OsBC1L1 appears to be orthologous to rth3 based on sequence similarity (86% identity at the protein level) and maize/rice synteny, the maize (Zea mays L.) rth3-like gene does not appear to be a functional homolog of rth3 based on their distinct expression profiles. Massively parallel signature sequencing analysis detected rth3 expression in all analyzed tissues, but at relatively low levels, with the most abundant expression in primary roots where the root hair phenotype is manifested. In situ hybridization experiments confine rth3 expression to root hair-forming epidermal cells and lateral root primordia. Remarkably, in replicated field trials involving near-isogenic lines, the rth3 mutant conferred significant losses in grain yield.
Highlights
Root hairs enlarge the surface of the root to support the uptake of water and nutrients and the interaction with the abiotic and biotic rhizosphere (Gilroy and Jones, 2000)
The rth3 mutant is affected in root hair elongation
We report here the cloning of the rth3 gene via a PCR-based strategy and demonstrate that it encodes a COBRA-like protein that displays all the structural features of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor
Summary
Root hairs enlarge the surface of the root to support the uptake of water and nutrients and the interaction with the abiotic and biotic rhizosphere (Gilroy and Jones, 2000). Unlike alfalfa (Medicago truncatula), where all epidermal cells are trichoblasts which develop into root-hair-. A 2008 The Authors Journal compilation a 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd bearing cells (Sieberer and Emons, 2000), the root epidermis of most other higher plants is composed of trichoblasts and atrichoblasts which do not develop root hairs (Larkin et al, 2003). In Arabidopsis thaliana the position of epidermal cells in a cleft between two cortical cells determines the formation of root hairs (Dolan et al, 1994). In maize (Zea mays L.) the last division of surface cells produces two sized daughter cells, both of which can produce root hairs (Row and Reeder, 1957)
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