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Doctoral thesis2022Open access

The effect of stress on plant vascular development and regeneration

Mazumdar, Shamik

Abstract

Plants are susceptible to stress due to their lifestyle and as such have evolved multiple adaptive strategies to ensure survival. One of the most remarkable abilities in plants is their competence to regenerate tissues. Particularly, any damage to vascular tissues is healed quickly to continue survival. This thesis aimed to identify the effect of stress on plant vascular development and regeneration using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The thesis shows how abiotic stresses activate abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway, which activates VASCULAR RELATED NAC DOMAIN transcription factors to enhance xylem development to mitigate stress (Paper I). Analysis of another phytohormone signaling pathway, brassinosteroid (BR) revealed that it affects both cambium and xylem development. Additionally, both canonical BR signaling and RECEPETOR LIKE PROTEIN 44 (RLP44) associated BR signaling are required for regeneration and to maintain the balance between cambium and xylem development (Paper II). While the regenerative ability benefits plants, it is also used by biotic agents to the detriment of the plants. We identified a gene, ENHANCER OF VISUAL AND GRAFTING 1 (EVG1), that was commonly induced across biotic and abiotic stresses. EVG1 affected vascular development, regeneration, and mutation of the gene caused differential expression of cell wall related genes. The thesis demonstrates how EVG1 is highly stress responsive and potentially acts as a stress signal and mediates developmental changes (Paper III). Overall, this thesis expands our knowledge as to how stress affects vascular development and regeneration.

Keywords

Abscisic acid; Brassinosteroid; Cambium; Cell wall; Phloem; Regeneration; Stress; Xylem

Published in

Acta Universitatis Agriculturae Sueciae
2022, number: 2022:52
ISBN: 978-91-7760-979-7, eISBN: 978-91-7760-980-3
Publisher: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences