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Research article2022Peer reviewedOpen access

Endoreplication mediates cell size control via mechanochemical signaling from cell wall

Ma, Yuan; Jonsson, Kristoffer; Aryal, Bibek; De Veylder, Lieven; Hamant, Olivier; Bhalerao, Rishikesh P.

Abstract

Endoreplication is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for increasing nuclear DNA content (ploidy). Ploidy frequently scales with final cell and organ size, suggesting a key role for endoreplication in these processes. However, exceptions exist, and, consequently, the endoreplication-size nexus remains enigmatic. Here, we show that prolonged tissue folding at the apical hook in Arabidopsis requires endoreplication asymmetry under the control of an auxin gradient. We identify a molecular pathway linking endoreplication levels to cell size through cell wall remodeling and stiffness modulation. We find that endoreplication is not only permissive for growth: Endoreplication reduction enhances wall stiffening, actively reducing cell size. The cell wall integrity kinase THESEUS plays a key role in this feedback loop. Our data thus explain the nonlinearity between ploidy levels and size while also providing a molecular mechanism linking mechanochemical signaling with endore-plication-mediated dynamic control of cell growth.

Published in

Science Advances
2022, Volume: 8, number: 49, article number: eabq2047
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE