美国杜克大学Philip N. Benfey团队的最新研究表明，植物脂钙素促进视黄醛介导的振荡侧根发生。2021年9月24日，国际学术期刊《科学》发表了这一成果。

为了确定类视色素是否调节根钟，研究人员构建了视黄醛结合蛋白的化学报告基因。研究发现视黄醛结合先于根时钟并预测侧根器官发生的位点。使用视黄醛增加了根钟振荡并促进了侧根的形成。在拟南芥中表达与脊椎动物类视黄醇结合蛋白的同源性蛋白-温度诱导脂蛋白 (TIL)，导致视黄醛与报告基因在结合区域内振荡，并在异源系统中赋予视黄醛结合活性，并且当其发生突变时会降低视黄醛敏感性。

这些结果证明了视黄醛及其结合蛋白在侧根器官发生中的作用。

据了解，在拟南芥中，侧根的从头器官发生是由一种称为根钟的振荡机制形成的，该机制依赖于不明代谢物。

附：英文原文

Title: A plant lipocalin promotes retinal-mediated oscillatory lateral root initiation

Author: Alexandra J. Dickinson, Jingyuan Zhang, Michael Luciano, Guy Wachsman, Evan Sandoval, Martin Schnermann, José R. Dinneny, Philip N. Benfey

Issue&Volume: 2021-09-24

Abstract: In Arabidopsis, de novo organogenesis of lateral roots is patterned by an oscillatory mechanism called the root clock, which is dependent on unidentified metabolites. To determine whether retinoids regulate the root clock, we used a chemical reporter for retinaldehyde (retinal)–binding proteins. We found that retinal binding precedes the root clock and predicts sites of lateral root organogenesis. Application of retinal increased root clock oscillations and promoted lateral root formation. Expression of an Arabidopsis protein with homology to vertebrate retinoid-binding proteins, TEMPERATURE INDUCED LIPOCALIN (TIL), oscillates in the region of retinal binding to the reporter, confers retinal-binding activity in a heterologous system, and, when mutated, decreases retinal sensitivity. These results demonstrate a role for retinal and its binding partner in lateral root organogenesis.

DOI: abf7461

Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf7461