TY - JOUR

T1 - Sucrose and Mannans Affect Arabidopsis Shoot Gravitropism at the Cell Wall Level

AU - Pozhvanov, Gregory

AU - Suslov, Dmitry

PY - 2024/1/11

Y1 - 2024/1/11

N2 - Gravitropism is the plant organ bending in response to gravity. Gravitropism, phototropism and sufficient mechanical strength define the optimal position of young shoots for photosynthesis. Etiolated wild-type Arabidopsis seedlings grown horizontally in the presence of sucrose had a lot more upright hypocotyls than seedlings grown without sucrose. We studied the mechanism of this effect at the level of cell wall biomechanics and biochemistry. Sucrose strengthened the bases of hypocotyls and decreased the content of mannans in their cell walls. As sucrose is known to increase the gravitropic bending of hypocotyls, and mannans have recently been shown to interfere with this process, we examined if the effect of sucrose on shoot gravitropism could be partially mediated by mannans. We compared cell wall biomechanics and metabolomics of hypocotyls at the early steps of gravitropic bending in Col-0 plants grown with sucrose and mannan-deficient mutant seedlings. Sucrose and mannans affected gravitropic bending via different mechanisms. Sucrose exerted its effect through cell wall-loosening proteins, while mannans changed the walls' viscoelasticity. Our data highlight the complexity of shoot gravitropism control at the cell wall level.

AB - Gravitropism is the plant organ bending in response to gravity. Gravitropism, phototropism and sufficient mechanical strength define the optimal position of young shoots for photosynthesis. Etiolated wild-type Arabidopsis seedlings grown horizontally in the presence of sucrose had a lot more upright hypocotyls than seedlings grown without sucrose. We studied the mechanism of this effect at the level of cell wall biomechanics and biochemistry. Sucrose strengthened the bases of hypocotyls and decreased the content of mannans in their cell walls. As sucrose is known to increase the gravitropic bending of hypocotyls, and mannans have recently been shown to interfere with this process, we examined if the effect of sucrose on shoot gravitropism could be partially mediated by mannans. We compared cell wall biomechanics and metabolomics of hypocotyls at the early steps of gravitropic bending in Col-0 plants grown with sucrose and mannan-deficient mutant seedlings. Sucrose and mannans affected gravitropic bending via different mechanisms. Sucrose exerted its effect through cell wall-loosening proteins, while mannans changed the walls' viscoelasticity. Our data highlight the complexity of shoot gravitropism control at the cell wall level.

KW - biomechanics

KW - cell walls

KW - creep

KW - gravitropism

KW - mannans

KW - metabolomics

KW - sucrose

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/851fc635-7145-378f-88db-c1eb8d036ff8/

U2 - 10.3390/plants13020209

DO - 10.3390/plants13020209

M3 - Article

C2 - 38256762

VL - 13

JO - Plants

JF - Plants

SN - 2223-7747

IS - 2

M1 - 209

ER -