A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists reported the discovery of a hormone and receptor that control cell expansion in plants Thursday, according to a university news release.
UW-Madison biochemistry professor and Director of UW Biotechnology Center Michael Sussman, one of the lead researchers for the project, described the discovery in the journal Science. Miyoshi Haruta, Grzegorz Sabat, Kelly Stecker and Benjamin Minkoff also contributed to the report.
According to the research group, plants grow by expanding cells rather than moving them, and cell division only occurs within a small region where the root meets the stem. Cell expansion is essential to overall plant growth, and UW-Madison’s research on how plants regulate cell growth at the molecular level has helped explain the process.
The team found that a secreted peptide called the rapid alkalinization factor limits root growth. The peptide activates the cell surface receptor FERONIA to regulate growth. This interaction mediates proton transport, regulating cell expansion.
Cell expansion and growth regulation are key to a plant’s survival because of the plant’s immobility and lack of defenses.
“The only thing a plant can do is grow faster or slower,” Sussman said in the release. “If a pathogen attacks a plant, it stops growing and puts its energy into molecules that can thwart the pathogen.”
Knowledge about basic molecular mechanisms by which plant growth is regulated could lead to advancement in manipulating plants humans use for food, fuel, fiber and medicines, according to the release.
