Endoreplication mediates cell size control via mechanochemical signaling from cell wall.

Ma Y, Jonsson K, Aryal B, De Veylder L, Hamant O, Bhalerao RP

Sci Adv 8 (49) eabq2047 [2022-12-09; online 2022-12-09]

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 endoreplication-mediated dynamic control of cell growth.

Cryo-EM [Service]

PubMed 36490331

DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abq2047

Crossref 10.1126/sciadv.abq2047

pmc: PMC9733919


Publications 9.5.1