ERF1 inhibits lateral root emergence by promoting local auxin accumulation and repressing ARF7 expression

• Published in: Cell reports (Cambridge) Vol. 42; no. 6; p. 112565
• Main Authors: Zhao, Pingxia, Zhang, Jing, Chen, Siyan, Zhang, Zisheng, Wan, Guangyu, Mao, Jieli, Wang, Zhen, Tan, Shutang, Xiang, Chengbin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 27.06.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: ARF7; AUX1; auxin distribution; auxin transport; CP: Developmental biology; CP: Plants; ERF1; lateral root; PIN1; CP: Plants; AUX1; auxin distribution; ERF1; PIN1; CP: Developmental biology; auxin transport; ARF7; lateral root
• ISSN: 2211-1247; 2211-1247
• DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112565

Lateral roots (LRs) are crucial for plants to sense environmental signals in addition to water and nutrient absorption. Auxin is key for LR formation, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we report that Arabidopsis ERF1 inhibits LR emergence by promoting local auxin accumulation with altered distribution and regulating auxin signaling. Loss of ERF1 increases LR density compared with the wild type, whereas ERF1 overexpression causes the opposite phenotype. ERF1 enhances auxin transport by upregulating PIN1 and AUX1, resulting in excessive auxin accumulation in the endodermal, cortical, and epidermal cells surrounding LR primordia. Furthermore, ERF1 represses ARF7 transcription, thereby downregulating the expression of cell-wall remodeling genes that facilitate LR emergence. Together, our study reveals that ERF1 integrates environmental signals to promote local auxin accumulation with altered distribution and repress ARF7, consequently inhibiting LR emergence in adaptation to fluctuating environments. [Display omitted] •ERF1 functions as a negative regulator of lateral root emergence•ERF1 enhances auxin transport by upregulating PIN1 and AUX1•ERF1 transcriptionally represses ARF7•ERF1 downregulates cell-wall remodeling genes in lateral root emergence Zhao et al. show that ERF1, a hub transcription factor in the stress response, inhibits lateral root emergence by promoting high local auxin accumulation with altered distribution in the epidermis, cortex, and endodermis overlying the lateral root primordia and regulating auxin signaling in adaptation to fluctuating environments.