Abstract
The root system is an imperative component of a plant, involved in water and nutrient acquisition from the soil. Any subtle change in the root system may lead to drastic changes in plant productivity. Both auxin and cytokinin are implicated in regulating various root developmental aspects. One of the major signaling cascades facilitating various hormonal and developmental allocations is the Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) cascade. Innumerable efforts have been made to unravel the complex nexus involved in rice root development. In spite of a plethora of studies, a comprehensive study aiming to decipher the plausible cross-talk of MAPK signaling module with auxin and cytokinin signaling components in rice is missing. In the present study, extensive phenomics analysis of different stages of rice roots; transcript profiling by qRT-PCR of entire gene family of MAPK, MAPKK and PIN genes; as well as protein level and activity of potential MAPKs was investigated using western and immuno kinase assays both on auxin and cytokinin treatment. The above study led to the identification of various novel rice root specific phenotypic traits by using GiA roots software framework. High expression profile of OsMPK3/6, OsMKK4/5 and OsPIN 1b/9 and their marked transcript level modulation in response to both auxin and cytokinin was observed. Finally, the protein levels and activity assay further substantiated our present findings. Thus, OsMPK3/6-OsMKK4/5 module is elucidated as the putative, key player in auxin-cytokinin interaction augmenting their role by differentially regulating the expression patterns of OsPIN 1b/9 in root development in rice.
Highlights
The daunting issue of nutritional and food security has resulted in a quest among researchers to improve the rice landraces, with a particular focus on rice roots
The annotated data resulted in generation of processed images of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days old rice roots of untreated, Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and BAP treated seedlings (Fig 1)
These findings lead to an indicative conclusion of the involvement of OsMPK3 and OsMPK6 in rice root development which may act in concert or individually with the phytohormones at the specified time point and further lead to the modulation of transcript accumulation of OsPIN 1b/9 genes leading to various root developmental phenomena
Summary
The daunting issue of nutritional and food security has resulted in a quest among researchers to improve the rice landraces, with a particular focus on rice roots. The rice root system has emerged as a target for breeders to improve the ability of the plant to exploit the mineral and water resources. The root system is an indispensable component for plant growth and survival. MAPK-Phytohormone Interplay during Rice Root Development necessitating essential functions during plant development, including anchorage and acquisition of water and nutrients from the soil. The structure of root system is governed by endogenous genetic programs as well as by external environmental cues, including a number of biotic and abiotic stresses [1]. The development of root system and determination of its architectural parameters is an important agronomic trait [2]. Breeding for root architecture involves identifying the genetic determinants of root development which in turn represent a bottleneck for deciphering the converging point of various signaling parameters [3]
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