Mechanism of wound-repairing and organ-reconnecting in cut plants

October 25, 2022

Auxin activates regenerative genes to form a callus, providing hopes for increasing food production and applying to horticultural uses such as grafting

Researchers at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Niigata University, Teikyo University, and the RIKEN CSRS found a critical phenomenon associated with the regenerative mechanism in a model plant Arabidopsis. When the plant is cut at petioles, a rodlike organ connecting leaves and stems, the two cut surfaces produce calluses (mass of cells) for wound repair, respectively, in which activity levels of the surfaces are significantly different. They partly revealed the mechanism of this finding; the plant hormone auxin, stimulating plant growth, accumulates more in the active surface, leading to specific activation of a transcription factor (WOX13) that makes genes to form a callus. These findings would further evolve into agricultural and horticultural applications, such as developing an efficient grafting technique.

Original article

Plant and Cell Physiology doi:10.1093/pcp/pcac146

H. Tanaka, N. Hashimoto, S. Kawai, E. Yumoto, K. Shibata, T. Tameshige, Y. Yamamoto, K. Sugimoto, M. Asahina, M. Ikeuchi,

"Auxin-induced WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX13 Mediates Asymmetric Activity of Callus Formation upon Cutting".

Contact

Momoko Ikeuchi; Visiting Scientist
Keiko Sugimoto; Team Leader
Cell Function Research Team