β-Cyclocitral is a conserved root growth regulator

  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 May 21;116(21):10563-10567. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1821445116.
Alexandra J Dickinson  1  2  3 ,  Kevin Lehner  1 ,  Jianing Mi  4 ,  Kun-Peng Jia  4 ,  Medhavinee Mijar  1  2 ,  José Dinneny  3  5 ,  Salim Al-Babili  4 ,  Philip N Benfey  6  2
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
  • 2. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
  • 3. Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institute of Science, Stanford, CA 94305.
  • 4. Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, The Bioactives Lab, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, 23955-6900 Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
  • 5. Department of Biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305.
  • 6. Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708; [email protected].
PMID: 31068462 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1821445116
Abstract

Natural compounds capable of increasing root depth and branching are desirable tools for enhancing stress tolerance in crops. We devised a sensitized screen to identify natural metabolites capable of regulating root traits in Arabidopsis β-Cyclocitral, an endogenous root compound, was found to promote cell divisions in root meristems and stimulate lateral root branching. β-Cyclocitral rescued meristematic cell divisions in ccd1ccd4 biosynthesis mutants, and β-cyclocitral-driven root growth was found to be independent of Auxin, brassinosteroid, and Reactive Oxygen Species signaling pathways. β-Cyclocitral had a conserved effect on root growth in tomato and rice and generated significantly more compact crown root systems in rice. Moreover, β-cyclocitral treatment enhanced plant vigor in rice Plants exposed to salt-contaminated soil. These results indicate that β-cyclocitral is a broadly effective root growth promoter in both monocots and eudicots and could be a valuable tool to enhance crop vigor under environmental stress.

Keywords
abiotic stress; carotenoid; lateral root emergence; meristem; plant hormone.
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