Emergent Protective Organogenesis in Date Palms: A Morpho-devo-dynamic Adaptive Strategy During Early Development.
Type
ArticleAuthors
Xiao, TingtingRaygoza, Alejandro Aragón
Pérez, Juan Caballero
Kirschner, Gwendolyn Kristin
Deng, Yanming
Atkinson, Brian
Sturrock, Craig
Lube, Vinicius
Wang, Jian You
Lubineau, Gilles

Al-Babili, Salim

Ramírez, Luis Alfredo Cruz
Bennett, Malcolm J
Blilou, Ikram

KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionBioscience Program
Composite and Heterogeneous Material Analysis and Simulation Laboratory (COHMAS)
Desert Agriculture Initiative
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Physical Science and Engineering Division, COHMAS Laboratory, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
Mechanical Engineering Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Plant Science
Date
2019-05-29Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/656360
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Desert plants have developed mechanisms for adapting to hostile desert conditions, yet these mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we describe two unique modes used by desert date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) to protect their meristematic tissues during early organogenesis. We used X-ray micro-computed tomography combined with high-resolution tissue imaging to reveal that, after germination, development of the embryo pauses while it remains inside a dividing and growing cotyledonary petiole. Transcriptomic and hormone analyses show that this developmental arrest is associated with the low expression of development-related genes and accumulation of hormones that promote dormancy and confer resistance to stress. Furthermore, organ-specific cell type mapping demonstrates that organogenesis occurs inside the cotyledonary petiole, with identifiable root and shoot meristems and their respective stem cells. The plant body emerges from the surrounding tissues with developed leaves and a complex root system that maximizes efficient nutrient and water uptake. We further show that, similar to its role in Arabidopsis thaliana, the SHORT-ROOT (SHR) homologue from date palms functions in maintaining stem cell activity and promoting formative divisions in the root ground tissue. Our findings provide insight into developmental programs that confer adaptive advantages in desert plants that thrive in hostile habitats.Citation
Xiao, T., Raygoza, A. A., Pérez, J. C., Kirschner, G., Deng, Y., Atkinson, B., … Blilou, I. (2019). Emergent Protective Organogenesis in Date Palms: A Morpho-devo-dynamic Adaptive Strategy During Early Development. The Plant Cell, tpc.00008.2019. doi:10.1105/tpc.19.00008Sponsors
The research reported in this publication was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). We acknowledge awards from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [grant numbers BB/PO16855/1, BB/M001806/1]; European Research Council FUTUREROOTS Advanced Investigator grant 294729; and Leverhulme Trust grant RPG-2016-409” We thank the manager of Publication Services and Researcher Support (KAUST), Dr. Virginia A. Unkefer and Dr Michael Cusack, for editing and critical reading of the manuscript. We are also grateful for the support from the KAUST Core Labs, especially the staff in the Imaging and Characterization Core Lab (https://corelabs.kaust.edu.sa/imaging). The authors thank Prof. Renze Heidstra for his critical reading of the manuscript.Journal
The Plant cellAdditional Links
http://www.plantcell.org/lookup/doi/10.1105/tpc.19.00008ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1105/tpc.19.00008