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Report

The Lateral Root Cap Acts as an Auxin Sink that


Controls Meristem Size
Highlights Authors
d Cytokinin acts in the LRC to coordinate cell differentiation of Riccardo Di Mambro,
the root meristem Noemi Svolacchia,
Raffaele Dello Ioio, ..., Wolfgang Busch,
d Cytokinin controls auxin levels via PIN5 and GH3.17 to trigger Paolo Costantino, Sabrina Sabatini
cell differentiation

d PIN5 and GH3.17 control auxin levels specifically in the LRC


Correspondence
riccardo.dimambro@unipi.it (R.D.M.),
d LRC serves as an auxin sink which controls meristem size sabrina.sabatini@uniroma1.it (S.S.)
thus organ growth
In Brief
During organ growth, cell activity needs
to be coordinated. Di Mambro et al.
identify a mechanism that acts in one
tissue and yet coordinates activity
throughout the root. Control of the levels
of the hormone auxin, specifically in the
lateral root cap, is sufficient to coordinate
cell differentiation of all tissues thus
ensuring coherent root growth.

Di Mambro et al., 2019, Current Biology 29, 1199–1205


April 1, 2019 ª 2019 Elsevier Ltd.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.022
Current Biology

Report

The Lateral Root Cap Acts as an Auxin Sink


that Controls Meristem Size
Riccardo Di Mambro,1,* Noemi Svolacchia,2 Raffaele Dello Ioio,2 Emanuela Pierdonati,2 Elena Salvi,2
Emanuela Pedrazzini,3 Alessandro Vitale,3 Serena Perilli,2 Rosangela Sozzani,4 Philip N. Benfey,5 Wolfgang Busch,6
Paolo Costantino,2 and Sabrina Sabatini2,7,*
1Department of Biology, University of Pisa - via L. Ghini, 13 - 56126 Pisa, Italy
2Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie, Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics of Model Systems, Università di Roma,
Sapienza - via dei Sardi, 70 - 00185 Rome, Italy
3Istituto di Biologia e Biotecnologia Agraria, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Via Alfonso Corti, 12 - 20133 Milano, Italy
4Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
5Department of Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
6Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
7Lead Contact

*Correspondence: riccardo.dimambro@unipi.it (R.D.M.), sabrina.sabatini@uniroma1.it (S.S.)


https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.022

SUMMARY RESULTS

Plant developmental plasticity relies on the activ- A Cytokinin-Dependent Pathway in the LRC Controls
ities of meristems, regions where stem cells contin- Root Meristem Size
uously produce new cells [1]. The lateral root cap Root meristem size depends on cytokinin activity, which posi-
(LRC) is the outermost tissue of the root meristem tions an auxin minimum, thereby coordinating differentiation of
[1], and it is known to play an important role during cells exiting the meristem [10]. We previously developed a math-
ematical model that identified the LRC as a tissue possibly
root development [2–6]. In particular, it has been
involved in controlling the position of the auxin minimum and
shown that mechanical or genetic ablation of LRC
thus meristem size [10]. To begin to identify the molecular mech-
cells affect meristem size [7, 8]; however, the mo- anisms involved in mediating LRC dependent control of root
lecular mechanisms involved are unknown. Root meristem size, we first asked if modulation of cytokinin levels
meristem size and, consequently, root growth specifically in the LRC can regulate meristem size. To this
depend on the position of the transition zone end, using the J2632 GAL4/UAS LRC-specific reporter line
(TZ), a boundary that separates dividing from (https://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/Haseloff) [11, 12], we ex-
differentiating cells [9, 10]. The interaction of two pressed an inducible version of the CYTOKININ OXIDASE/
phytohormones, cytokinin and auxin, is funda- DEHYDROGENASE 1 (CKX1) gene [12], involved in cytokinin
mental in controlling the position of the TZ [9, catabolism, as well as an inducible constitutive active version
10]. Cytokinin via the ARABIDOPSIS RESPONSE of the ARR1 gene (ARR1DDDK), involved in cytokinin signal
transduction response [13]. J2632;UAS::CKX1:GR plants,
REGULATOR 1 (ARR1) control auxin distribution
upon dexamethasone (Dex) treatment, showed an increase in
within the meristem, generating an instructive
the number of meristematic cells compared to untreated con-
auxin minimum that positions the TZ [10]. We trols (Figures 1A and 1B). These changes in meristem size
identify a cytokinin-dependent molecular mecha- depend on a decreased cytokinin level in the LRC as revealed
nism that acts in the LRC to control the position by LRC specific qPCR analysis, where cytokinin inducible genes
of the TZ and meristem size. We show that auxin such as GH3.17, ARR7, and ARR3 were downregulated upon
levels within the LRC cells depends on PIN- J2632;UAS::CKX1:GR induction [10, 14, 15] (Figure S1A). In
FORMED 5 (PIN5), a cytokinin-activated intracellular contrast, upon Dex treatment, J2632;UAS::ARR1DDDK-GR
transporter that pumps auxin from the cytoplasm plants, in which cytokinin response in the LRC is enhanced, dis-
into the endoplasmic reticulum, and on irreversible played a reduced root meristem size (Figures 1A and 1B),
auxin conjugation mediated by the IAA-amino mimicking the effect of exogenous cytokinin applications [12].
Thus, these data suggest that cytokinin acts in the LRC to con-
synthase GRETCHEN HAGEN 3.17 (GH3.17). By
trol differentiation of the inner root layers and, consequently,
titrating auxin in the LRC, the PIN5 and the
determine root meristem size.
GH3.17 genes control auxin levels in the entire
root meristem. Overall, our results indicate that GH3.17 Regulates Meristem Size, Specifically from the
the LRC serves as an auxin sink that, under the con- LRC
trol of cytokinin, regulates meristem size and root We have previously shown that to position the auxin minimum—
growth. and therefore control meristem size—cytokinin promotes auxin

Current Biology 29, 1199–1205, April 1, 2019 ª 2019 Elsevier Ltd. 1199
Figure 1. Cytokinin Controls Root Meristem
Size from the LRC Tissue via GH3.17
(A) Confocal microscopy images of root meri-
stems of J2632;UAS::CKX1-GR and J2632;UAS::
ARR1DDDK-GR plants before and upon dexameth-
asone treatment (+Dex). Red channel: Propidium
iodine (PI) cell wall stain; Green channel: GFP (GFP
signal marks GAL4 activity, which coincides with
expression of the UAS constructs). The meristem size
is indicated as the number of meristematic cortex
cells: quiescent center (QC), blue arrowhead; cortical
transition boundary, white arrowhead. Scale bar,
100 mm.
(B) Quantification of meristematic cell number of
J2632;UAS::CKX1-GR and J2632;UAS::ARR1DDDK-
GR plants before and upon Dex treatment. Asterisk
indicates a significance with a p value < 0.001; Stu-
dent’s t test; n = 30. Error bars represent standard
deviation (SD).
(C) Bright field microscopy images of root apical
meristems of DEX induced WT and gh3.17-1 plants
carrying the M0126;UAS::GH3.17-GR and the
J2632;UAS::GH3.17-GR constructs, respectively. In
gh3.17-1;M0126,UAS::GH3.17-GR plants, GH3.17
expression was reintroduced only in the differenti-
ated epidermal cells. In gh3.17-1;J2632;UAS::
GH3.17-GR plants, GH3.17 expression was re-
introduced only in the mature LRC tissue. Blue
arrowheads indicate the QC and white arrowheads
indicate the cortical transition boundary (scale bar,
100 mm).
(D) Quantification of meristematic cortical cell
number of M0126;UAS::GH3.17-GR and gh3.17-
1;M0126;UAS::GH3.17-GR plants (n = 20).
(E) Quantification of meristematic cortical cell
number of J2632;UAS::GH3.17-GR and gh3.17-
1;J2632;UAS::GH3.17-GR plants (n = 22). Error
bars represent SD; asterisk indicates a significance
with a p value < 0.001; ns = not significant (Student’s
t test).
See also Figure S1.

GH3.17 either into differentiated epidermal


cells or into mature LRC tissue. We gener-
ated lines in which GH3.17 expression
was driven specifically in the differentiated
epidermal cells (M0126) or in the external
inactivation by positively regulating the GH3.17 gene, which LRC tissue (J2632), gh3.17-1;M0126;UAS::GH3.17-GR, and
conjugates amino acids to auxin [10]. GH3.17 is expressed in gh3.17-1;J2632;UAS::GH3.17-GR lines, respectively (Figure 1C;
the external layers of the LRC and in differentiated epidermal Figure S1B). Induction of GH3.17 in the epidermis did not affect
cells (Figure S1B). GH3.17 activity in these tissues has root meristem size (Figures 1C and 1D), while induction in the
an impact on the overall auxin levels of the meristem due to external layers of the LRC tissue rescued the enlarged root
the peculiar auxin reflux loop, which redistributes auxin meristem phenotype of the gh3.17-1 mutant (Figures 1C–1E).
over the entire root apex [10]. To determine if GH3.17 activity Thus, GH3.17-mediated auxin inactivation in the LRC is neces-
in the LRC is sufficient to control root meristem size, we sary and sufficient to control meristem size, suggesting that the
overexpressed the GH3.17 gene in the LRC by generating regulation of auxin quantity in the LRC defines auxin levels of the
J2632;UAS::GH3.17-GR plants. Upon Dex treatment, these entire root meristem.
plants exhibited a reduced meristem size as compared to
untreated plants (Figures S1C and S1D), suggesting that Cytokinin Controls PIN5 Expression in the LRC via ARR1
GH3.17 activity in the LRC is sufficient to control meristem To identify additional components involved in cytokinin-
size. To test this hypothesis, we performed tissue-specific dependent control of root meristem size from the LRC, we
complementation of the gh3.17-1 mutant by reintroducing examined the transcriptional profiles of LRC cells employing

1200 Current Biology 29, 1199–1205, April 1, 2019


Figure 2. ARR1 Positively Controls PIN5
Expression to Regulate Root Growth and
Meristem Size from the LRC
(A) Gene Ontology categories enrichment of ARR1
regulated genes in the LRC. Differentially regulated
genes were categorized into 8 clusters (columns).
GO categories significantly enriched among the
genes in each cluster (p < 103 according to a
hypergeometric test) are indicated. Color intensity
indicates increasing significance of enrichment.
(B) Bright field microscopy images of root apical
meristems of WT, pin5-3, PIN5OX and CK-treated
(+CK, 5 mM tZ 20 h) WT and pin5-3 lines. Blue ar-
rowheads indicate the QC and white arrowheads
indicate the cortical transition boundary. Scale
bars, 100 mm.
(C and D) Quantification of meristematic cell num-
ber (C) and root length (D) of WT, pin5-3, PIN5OX
and CK-treated (+CK) WT and pin5-3 roots.
Asterisk indicates a significance with a p value <
0.001 (Student’s t test) with the exception of
WT +CK in (D), where the p value < 0.05; n = 30.
Error bars represent SD.
See also Figure S2 and Table S1.

lated following ARR1DDDK induction (Fig-


ure 2A; Figure S2A). Given that it has been
shown that overexpression of PIN5 results
in decreased levels of free auxin and an
accumulation of IAA-Glu conjugates [26],
which are also downstream products of
GH3.17 activity [10], we hypothesized that
the PIN5 and the GH3.17 genes, under
the control of cytokinin, act in the LRC to
fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) coupled with time- modulate auxin levels throughout the meristem thus determining
course expression profiling [16–19] at 3 time points: J2632; its size.
UAS::ARR1DDDK-GR untreated (T0), 1 h (T1), and 4 h (T2)
Dex-treated plants. A total of 2,230 differentially expressed PIN5 and GH3.17 Act in the Same Pathway to Control
genes were identified, which were clustered into 8 groups Root Meristem Size
based on their expression dynamics (Figure S2A). Clustered We first investigated if cytokinin via ARR1, as in the case of
genes were then analyzed for significantly enriched gene GH3.17 [10], directly controls PIN5 expression. ChIP-qPCR anal-
ontology (GO) categories, transcription factor families, and bio- ysis of pARR1::ARR1-GFP plants revealed that ARR1 directly
logical processes (Figure 2A). Because we previously showed binds the PIN5 promoter (Figure S2B). Moreover, 1 h induction
that an auxin minimum positions the TZ [10], we focused on of ARR1DDDK was sufficient to increase PIN5 mRNA levels in
genes related to auxin signaling, transport, and homeostasis. the LRC (Figure S2A). To determine if cytokinin induces PIN5
Interestingly, auxin signaling genes, such as the Aux/IAA repres- expression solely via ARR1, we monitored PIN5 mRNA levels
sors SHY2, AUXIN RESISTANT 3 (AXR3) [20], AUXIN RESISTANT in the arr1-3 loss-of-function mutant. While PIN5 mRNA levels
2 (AXR2) [21], and AUXIN RESISTANT 5 (AXR5) [22], were upregu- are increased in wild-type (WT) upon cytokinin treatment, tran-
lated following induction of ARR1DDDK. GO categories enriched script levels are lower in both cytokinin-treated and -untreated
in indolacetic acid biosynthesis and tryptophan biosynthesis arr1-3 roots as compared to WT (Figure S2C). Taken together,
genes, including TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF these data suggest that in the LRC, ARR1 directly and positively
ARABIDOPSIS 1 (TAA1) [23], TRYPTOPHAN BIOSYNTHESIS 1 regulates PIN5 expression.
(TRP1) [24], and TRYPTOPHAN SYNTHASE ALPHA CHAIN To determine if PIN5 is involved in controlling root meristem
(TRP3) [25], were downregulated upon ARR1DDDK induction. size, we analyzed roots of pin5-3 mutants and lines overex-
These data suggest that the LRC is a tissue where cytokinin pressing PIN5 (PIN5OX) [26]. The pin5-3 mutant has an
suppresses, at different levels, auxin activities (Figure 2A; enlarged meristem size and enhanced root growth, whereas
Figure S2A). PIN5OX plants show reduced meristem size and root growth
Notably, in the significantly enriched GO category ‘‘auxin ho- as compared to WT (Figures 2B–2D). Furthermore, unlike WT
meostasis’’, we found that PIN-FORMED 5 (PIN5), which root meristems, cytokinin treatment of pin5-3 plants does not
encodes for an intracellular transporter of auxin [26] was upregu- affect meristem size (Figures 2B–2D). Thus, PIN5 is involved

Current Biology 29, 1199–1205, April 1, 2019 1201


Figure 3. PIN5 Activity Is Necessary for the GH3.17-Mediated Regulation of Meristem Size
(A) Bright field microscopy images of root apical meristems of WT, pin5-3, gh3.17-1, pin5-3;gh3.17-1, UBQ10::GH3.17 and pin5-3;UBQ10::GH3.17 plants. Blue
arrowheads indicate the QC and white arrowheads indicate the cortical transition boundary (scale bar, 100 mm).
(B and C) Quantification of root meristematic cell number (B) and root length (C) of WT, pin5-3, gh3.17-1, pin5-3;gh3.17-1, UBQ10::GH3.17 and
pin5-3;UBQ10::GH3.17 plants. Asterisk indicates a significance with a p value < 0.005; Student’s t test; n = 35. Error bars represent SD.
See also Figure S3.

in controlling root meristem size and root growth in response to tions containing the ER. Thus, our results indicate that in
cytokinin. Arabidopsis thaliana roots, GH3.17-GFP is mainly localized
To determine if GH3.17 and PIN5 act in the same pathway, we in the cytosol.
generated a pin5-3;gh3.17-1 double mutant. The root meristem Taken together, our observations are consistent with the hy-
size of the double mutant did not differ significantly from either pothesis that, to regulate meristem size, the PIN5 and the
single mutant (Figures 3A–3C), indicating that PIN5 and GH3.17 genes control auxin level in the LRC cells by pumping
GH3.17 operate in the same pathway. Moreover, similar to auxin into the ER lumen via PIN5 and by conjugating and degrad-
the gh3.17-1;shy2-31 double mutant [10], the shy2-31;pin5-3 ing it in the cytosol via GH3.17.
double mutant had a larger meristem than either parent (Figures Given that GH3.17 and PIN5 specifically act in the LRC, we
S3A and S3B), indicating that PIN5 and SHY2 act in parallel would expect to see auxin accumulation in the LRC in the
pathways. absence of both PIN5 and GH3.17 activities. The analysis of
To understand how the PIN5 and the GH3.17 proteins (activities) DR5-RFP expression in the pin5-3 and gh3.17-1 mutants indeed
interact, we produced pin5-3 plants overexpressing GH3.17 (pin5- revealed heightened auxin response in the LRC of both mutant
3;UBQ10::GH3.17 plants) and gh3.17-1 plants overexpressing (Figure 4A). Furthermore, upon cytokinin treatment, DR5-RFP
PIN5 (PIN5OX;gh3.17-1 plants). In contrast to constitutively ex- expression decreases in WT plant, but not in pin5-3 and
pressed GH3.17 and PIN5 plants (UBQ10::GH3.17 and PIN5OX gh3.17-1 mutant plants, where auxin ectopic activity in the
plants), in which the root meristem was reduced in size, no reduc- LRC is not affected (Figures 4A and 4B). Thus, the PIN5 and
tion in meristem size was observed in pin5-3;UBQ10::GH3.17 the GH3.17 genes control, in response to cytokinin, auxin levels
plants (Figures 3A–3C), and only a slight reduction in meristem in the LRC, which in turn regulates meristem size.
size was observed in PIN5OX;gh3.17-1 plants (Figures S3C
and S3D). This indicates that PIN5 activity is dependent on DISCUSSION
GH3.17 activity, and vice versa. Thus, PIN5 and the GH3.17 pro-
teins are both necessary to control auxin levels and thus meristem The LRC is a tissue surrounding the root meristem in which
size. specific developmental signals have been proposed to direct
PIN5 is localized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and me- root growth [2–6, 30–32]. We have identified an LRC-specific
diates auxin flow from the cytoplasm to the ER lumen [26]. mechanism acting through the PIN5 and the GH3.17 genes,
Either the ER or the cytosol have been hypothesized as com- which determines root meristem size under the control of
partments of activity of GH3 auxin conjugases, but supporting cytokinin. In particular, we show that in the LRC, cytokinin,
evidence for one or the other location is still lacking [27–29]. via ARR1, controls auxin levels by directly controlling transcrip-
To determine if GH3.17 is localized in the ER lumen or in the tion of both the PIN5 auxin transporter (this work) and the
cytosol, we investigated its intracellular localization by subcel- GH3.17 enzyme [10] (Figure 4B). Cytokinin acting on PIN5,
lular fractionation on isopycnic sucrose density gradient in the which pumps auxin from the cytoplasm into the ER lumen,
presence of Mg2+ or EDTA to ensure the identity of the ER. and on GH3.17 that inactivates auxin by conjugation to amino
GH3.17-GFP was exclusively detected in the fractions where acids regulates auxin levels in the LRC, thereby controlling
the cytosolic marker NES-YC3.6 was also detected (Fig- auxin levels in the entire root meristem. In this way, cytokinin
ure S4). No GH3.17-GFP polypeptides were localized in frac- coordinates cell differentiation of all meristematic tissues likely

1202 Current Biology 29, 1199–1205, April 1, 2019


Figure 4. Cytokinin through the PIN5 and the
GH3.17 Genes Controls Auxin Levels in the
LRC to Regulate Meristem Size
(A) Confocal microscope images with bright field
and RFP channel of DR5-RFP expression in the root
tip of WT, pin5-3 and gh3.17-1 mutant plants un-
treated and treated with cytokinin (+CK, 5 mM tZ 4 h).
Scale bar, 100 mm.
(B) Fluorescence quantification of DR5-RFP in WT,
pin5-3 and gh3.17-1 mutant plants untreated and
treated with cytokinin (+CK, 5 mM tZ 4 h). Asterisk
indicates a significance with a p value < 0.001;
Student’s t test; WT ± CK, n = 30; pin5-3 ± CK,
n = 38; gh3.17-1 ± CK, n = 34. ns = not significant
(Student’s t test). Error bars represent SD.
(C) Proposed model: cytokinin promotes auxin
degradation specifically in the LRC cells (highlighted
in green on the root layout) thereby driving root
meristem cell differentiation. Cytokinin, through the
ARR1 transcription factor, positively regulates the
expression of GH3.17 and PIN5. PIN5 activity con-
trols auxin flux into the ER. GH3.17 catalyzes auxin
conjugation with glutamate (IAA-Glu), thus inducing
its degradation. The combined activities of these
genes in the LRC control auxin levels throughout
the inner tissues of the meristem thus determining
its size.
See also Figure S4.

controlling, from this tissue, the position of the auxin minimum control meristem size to adapt root growth in response to the
[10]. The combined activity of these two genes allows a fast environment.
change in auxin levels, ensuring a prompt response of the
root meristem. Therefore, we propose that the LRC serves as STAR+METHODS
an auxin sink, which controls meristem size and ensures
coherent organ growth. In accordance, recent evidence indi- Detailed methods are provided in the online version of this paper
cates that auxin levels in the LRC cells are crucial to control and include the following:
lateral root formation and the overall root architecture [6].
Several recent observations point to PIN5 and GH3.17 as d KEY RESOURCES TABLE
having a role in perceiving external stimuli. The endosomal d CONTACT FOR REAGENT AND RESOURCE SHARING
Na+,K+/H+ antiporters NHX5 and NHX6, involved in pH regula- d EXPERIMENTAL MODEL AND SUBJECT DETAILS
tion, operate via PIN5 to control auxin homeostasis and d METHOD DETAILS
root growth [33]. Moreover, several abiotic stresses such as B Plant Material and Growth Conditions
osmotic, salt, hypoxia, and selenium cause a variation in B Root Length, Meristem Size and Cell Size Analysis
GH3.17 and PIN5 expression [34, 35]. It is tempting to speculate B Generation and Characterization of Transgenic Plants
that a combination of different external (i.e., abiotic stresses) B Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and Micro-
and internal (i.e., cytokinin) stimuli may be translated in the array data acquisition
LRC by the PIN5 and theGH3.17 genes into different levels of B RNA Isolation and qRT-PCR
auxin. In this scenario, external and internal signals would be B ChIP-qRT-PCR
coordinated to fine-tune intercellular and intracellular auxin B DR5-RFP Fluorescence Quantification
fluxes that, impacting on the position of the auxin minimum, B Antibodies

Current Biology 29, 1199–1205, April 1, 2019 1203


B Subcellular Fractionation on Isopycnic Sucrose Gradi- 9. Dello Ioio, R., Nakamura, K., Moubayidin, L., Perilli, S., Taniguchi, M.,
ents Morita, M.T., Aoyama, T., Costantino, P., and Sabatini, S. (2008). A genetic
B Hormonal Treatments framework for the control of cell division and differentiation in the root mer-
istem. Science 322, 1380–1384.
d QUANTIFICATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
10. Di Mambro, R., De Ruvo, M., Pacifici, E., Salvi, E., Sozzani, R., Benfey,
P.N., Busch, W., Novak, O., Ljung, K., Di Paola, L., et al. (2017). Auxin
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
minimum triggers the developmental switch from cell division to cell
differentiation in the Arabidopsis root. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 114,
Supplemental Information can be found with this article online at https://doi.
E7641–E7649.
org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.022.
11. Aoyama, T., and Chua, N.H. (1997). A glucocorticoid-mediated transcrip-
tional induction system in transgenic plants. Plant J. 11, 605–612.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
12. Dello Ioio, R., Linhares, F.S., Scacchi, E., Casamitjana-Martinez, E.,
We thank Renze Heidstra, Thomas Schmülling, and Takashi Aoyama Heidstra, R., Costantino, P., and Sabatini, S. (2007). Cytokinins determine
for sharing material and GrassRoots Biotechnology for providing the Arabidopsis root-meristem size by controlling cell differentiation. Curr.
pDONORP4P1-pUBQ10 vector, pub. no. WO/2012/006426. We thank Jirı́ Biol. 17, 678–682.
Friml for providing the PIN5OX line. This work was supported by The European 13. Sakai, H., Honma, T., Aoyama, T., Sato, S., Kato, T., Tabata, S., and Oka,
Research Council grant 260368 (to S.S.) and MIUR (S.S. and R.D.M.). A. (2001). ARR1, a transcription factor for genes immediately responsive to
cytokinins. Science 294, 1519–1521.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS 14. Jones, B., Gunnerås, S.A., Petersson, S.V., Tarkowski, P., Graham, N.,
May, S., Dolezal, K., Sandberg, G., and Ljung, K. (2010). Cytokinin regula-
R.D.M., N.S., R.D.I., E. Pierdonati, E.S., E. Pedrazzini, and S.P. conducted the tion of auxin synthesis in Arabidopsis involves a homeostatic feedback
experiments. R.D.M., R.S., and W.B. assisted in the microarray experiments. loop regulated via auxin and cytokinin signal transduction. Plant Cell 22,
P.N.B., A.V., and P.C. discussed and interpreted results. R.D.M. and S.S. 2956–2969.
conceived the research, designed the experiments and wrote the paper. All 15. Salome, P.A., To, J.P., Kieber, J.J., and McClung, C.R. (2006). Arabidopsis
authors commented on the manuscript. response regulators ARR3 and ARR4 play cytokinin-independent roles in
the control of circadian period. Plant Cell 18, 55–69.
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS 16. Birnbaum, K., Jung, J.W., Wang, J.Y., Lambert, G.M., Hirst, J.A.,
Galbraith, D.W., and Benfey, P.N. (2005). Cell type-specific expression
The authors declare no competing interests. profiling in plants via cell sorting of protoplasts from fluorescent reporter
lines. Nat. Methods 2, 615–619.
Received: July 20, 2018
17. Birnbaum, K., Shasha, D.E., Wang, J.Y., Jung, J.W., Lambert, G.M.,
Revised: December 27, 2018
Galbraith, D.W., and Benfey, P.N. (2003). A gene expression map of the
Accepted: February 6, 2019
Arabidopsis root. Science 302, 1956–1960.
Published: March 14, 2019
18. Brady, S.M., Orlando, D.A., Lee, J.Y., Wang, J.Y., Koch, J., Dinneny, J.R.,
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Current Biology 29, 1199–1205, April 1, 2019 1205


STAR+METHODS

KEY RESOURCES TABLE

REAGENT or RESOURCE SOURCE IDENTIFIER


Antibodies
Rabbit polyclonal anti-GFP Thermo-Fisher Cat# A6455;
RRID:AB_221570
Rabbit polyclonal anti-endoplasmin/GRP94 [36] RRID:AB_10791076
Goat anti-Rabbit IgG (H+L) Secondary Antibody, HRP Conjugate Thermo-Fisher Cat# A16096;
RRID:AB_2534770
Bacterial and Virus Strains
Escherichia coli DH5a N/A N/A
Agrobacterium tumefaciens GV3101 N/A N/A
Chemicals, Peptides, and Recombinant Proteins
Murashige & Skoog Medium Duchefa Cat# M0221
Plant-agar Duchefa Cat# P1001
Sucrose Duchefa Cat# S0809
Kanamycin Sigma-Aldrich Cat# K1377
Rifampicin Duchefa Cat# R0146
Tetracycline Duchefa Cat# T0150
Gentamicin Duchefa Cat# G0124
Streptomycin Duchefa Cat# S0148
Spectinomycin Duchefa Cat# S0188
Phosphinothricin Sigma-Aldrich Cat# 77182-82-2
Phusion High-Fidelity DNA Polymerase New England Biolabs Cat# M0530S
trans-Zeatin Sigma-Aldrich Cat# Z0876
Dexamethasone Sigma-Aldrich Cat# D4902
Hpy188III NEB Cat# R0622S
Complete protease inhibitor cocktail Roche Cat# 11697498001
Critical Commercial Assays
SensiFAST SYBR Bioline Cat# BIO-92005
NucleoSpin RNA Plus Macherey-Nagel Cat# 740984
qPCRBIO SyGreen Mix PCR Biosystems Cat# PB20.11-05
Gel/PCR DNA Fragments Extraction Kit Geneaid Cat# DF100
NucleoSpin Plasmid Macherey-Nagel Cat# 740588
Gateway BP Clonase II Thermo-Fisher Cat# 11789
Gateway LR Clonase II Thermo-Fisher Cat# 11791
Superscript VILO cDNA Synthesis Kit Thermo-Fisher Cat# 11754
Rneasy Micro Kit QIAGEN Cat# 74004
Deposited Data
Microarray experiments Gene Expression Omnibus GEO: GSE117424
Experimental Models: Organisms/Strains
Arabidopsis: Col-0 Nottingham Arabidopsis N/A
Stock Centre
Arabidopsis: Landsberg erecta Nottingham Arabidopsis N/A
Stock Centre
Arabidopsis: gh3.17-1 [10] N/A
Arabidopsis: pin5-3 Nottingham Arabidopsis SALK_021738
Stock Centre
Arabidopsis: shy2-31 [9] N/A
Arabidopsis: UBQ10:GH3.17 [10] N/A
(Continued on next page)
e1 Current Biology 29, 1199–1205.e1–e4, April 1, 2019
Continued
REAGENT or RESOURCE SOURCE IDENTIFIER
Arabidopsis: PIN5OX [26] N/A
Arabidopsis: UAS:GH3.17-GR This paper N/A
Arabidopsis: UAS:ARR1-GR This paper N/A
Arabidopsis: UAS:CKX1-GR This paper N/A
Arabidopsis: J2632 Nottingham Arabidopsis N/A
Stock Centre
Arabidopsis: M0126 Nottingham Arabidopsis N/A
Stock Centre
Oligonucleotides
See Methods section and Table S1 N/A N/A
Recombinant DNA
pB7m43GW [10] N/A
P4P1-UAS This paper N/A
P221-GH3.17 [10] N/A
P2P3-GR This paper N/A
pGreenII0229 - UAS::AtCKX1-GR This paper N/A
pBI121 - UAS::ARR1DDDK-GR This paper N/A
Software and Algorithms
Excel Microsoft N/A
ImageJ https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/ N/A
ChipEnrich http://www.arexdb.org/software.html N/A
VirtualPlant 1.0 http://virtualplant.bio.nyu.edu/cgi-bin/vpweb/ N/A
TMeV http://www.tm4.org/ N/A
Other
Zeiss LSM 780 Zeiss N/A
Fitotron SGC 120 Growth chamber Weiss Technik, UK N/A
Zeiss Axio Imager A2 Zeiss N/A
7500 Fast Real-Time PCR system Applied Biosystems N/A
Zen software Zeiss N/A

CONTACT FOR REAGENT AND RESOURCE SHARING

Further information and requests for resources and reagents should be directed to and will be fulfilled by the Lead Contact, Sabrina
Sabatini (sabrina.sabatini@uniroma1.it).

EXPERIMENTAL MODEL AND SUBJECT DETAILS

Arabidopsis thaliana background lines Columbia-0 (Col-0) and Landsberg erecta (L. er.) were used for experimentation, with mutants
and transgenic lines in these backgrounds as detailed in the Key Resources Table.

METHOD DETAILS

Plant Material and Growth Conditions


The Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes Columbia-0 (Col-0) and Landsberg erecta (Ler) were used as controls as the gh3.17-1 mutant
[10] and pin5-3 are in a Col-0 background and the shy2-31 mutant [9] is in a Ler background. pin5-3 mutant was obtained from
the NASC collection (SALK_021738). Homozygous mutants from the Salk T-DNA were identified by PCR as described (http://
signal.salk.edu/tdnaprimers.2.html). shy2-31 mutant was genotyped by CAPS and the amplicon (Oligo-F 50 -TGCAATTCTTGAA
GAAATGGATGAG-30 , Oligo-R 50 -AGCAAGAAACTCTCTCTTTTG-30 ) was digested with Hpy188III
Enhancer trap lines, M0126 and J2632 were obtained by the NASC.
pGH3.17::GH3.17-GFP, pUBQ10::GH3.17, PIN5OX and DR5-RFP transgenic plants have been described previously [10, 26, 37].
For growth conditions, Arabidopsis seeds were surface sterilized, and seedlings were grown on one-half strength Murashige and
Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.8% agar at 22 C in long-day conditions (16-h-light/8-h-dark cycle) as previously described [38].

Current Biology 29, 1199–1205.e1–e4, April 1, 2019 e2


Arabidopsis locus IDs from this article
ACTIN2 (AT3G18780), ARR1 (AT3G16857), PIN5 (AT5G16530), GH3.17 (AT1G28130), IAA3/SHY2 (AT1G04240), UBQ10
(AT4G05320).

Root Length, Meristem Size and Cell Size Analysis


For root length measurements, plates were photographed and the resulting images were analyzed using the analysis software
ImageJ 1.47v available online (https://imagej.nih.gov/ij/). Root meristem size of 5 days post germination plants was measured based
on the number of cortex cells in a file extending from the quiescent center to the first elongated cortex cell excluded, as described
previously [38–40]. Images were obtained using a confocal laser scanning microscope (Zeiss LSM 780). Differential Interference
Contrast (DIC) with Nomarski technology microscopy (Zeiss Axio Imager A2) was used to count meristem cell number. Plants
were mounted in a chloral hydrate solution (8:3:1 mixture of chloral hydrate:water:glycerol) [38]. For confocal laser scanning analysis,
the cell wall was stained with 10 mM propidium iodide. For each experiment a minimum of 20 roots for two biological replicates were
analyzed. Student’s t test was used to determine the statistical significance.

Generation and Characterization of Transgenic Plants


Standard molecular biology techniques and the Gateway system (Invitrogen) were used for the cloning procedures.
The AtCKX1 cDNA was provided by Thomas Schmülling (Free University of Berlin). The AtCKX1 cDNA was cloned downstream of
the UAS sequence [41]. The resulting UAS::AtCKX1 was transferred into the pGreenII0229 vector. The 0.9-kb GR fragment was
amplified from the pWOX5::SHR-GR construct (provided by Renze Heidstra, Utrecht University, the Netherlands) using the primers
50 -GCGGATCCTGGTGGTGAAGCTCGAAAAACAAAG-30 and 50 -GTGAGCTCGGGCCCTATTTTTGATGAAACAG-30 . The GR domain
was cloned into pGreenII0229 downstream in frame of the AtCKX1 cDNA that had been digested in order to eliminate the stop codon.
Competent E.coli cells were transformed and plated on LB-agar containing specific antibiotic. Transgenic lines were generated in the
J2632 background by floral dipping [42]. Three independent J2632;UAS::AtCKX1-GR and J2632;UAS::ARR1DDDK-GR homozy-
gous transgenic lines were selected on Hygromycin 40 mg/mL and analyzed. All transformants gave rise to similar phenotypes on
10 mM dexamethasone.
pBI121 35S::ARR1DDDK-GR vector was provided by Takashi Aoyama (Kyoto University, Japan). To obtain the UAS::ARR1DDDK-
GR construct, the 35S promoter in the pBI121 35S::ARR1DDDK-GR vector was replaced by the UAS sequence [41] obtained from
the pGreenII0229 UAS::AtCKX1-GR vector through digestion with specific restriction enzymes. Competent E.coli cells were
transformed and plated on LB-agar containing specific antibiotic. Transgenic lines were generated in the J2632 background by floral
dipping [42]. All transformants gave rise to similar phenotypes on 10 mM dexamethasone.
For the UAS::GH3.17-GR transgenic plant, the genomic sequence of GH3.17 (2450 bp) was amplified from genomic DNA of
Arabidopsis Columbia ecotype using specific primers (gGH3.17 FW 50 -ATGATACCAAGTTACGACCCAAAT-30 , gGH3.17 REV
50 -AGAATCTAAACCAAGTGGTTCCC-30 ) and cloned in a pDONOR221 (pDONOR221-gGH3.17). A LR reaction was then conducted
by using the pDONORP4P1-UAS, pDONOR221-gGH3.17 and a pDONORP2P3-GR vector. The LR products were sub-cloned in the
Gateway pBm43GW destination vector. Plasmids were transformed into Col-0 plants by floral dipping [42]. Homozygous lines were
crossed with J2632 and M0126 plants. All transformants gave rise to similar phenotypes on 10 mM dexamethasone.

Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and Microarray data acquisition


A time course experiment with the ARR1DDDK line at 0, 1 and 4h after ARR1DDDK induction by dexamethasone treatment was
performed. Roots were dissected at approximately 0.5 cm from the root tip. The protoplasts obtained from dissected J2632;
UAS::ARR1DDDK-GR, line was used for fluorescence-activated cell sorting [17]. From the GFP-positive sorted cell populations
the RNA was subsequently extracted using a Rneasy Micro Kit QIAGEN. Total mRNA was amplified using two-cycle Affymetrix
protocol. RNA isolation and probes for hybridization were prepared as described [18] [19]. Each microarray experiment was
replicated twice. The correlations between these biological replicates were higher than R2 = 0.92. A global normalization step was
applied to the ARR1DDDK-induction time courses using ANOVA [43]. Differentially expressed genes were identified based on
fold-change in expression and a significant ANOVA Q-value threshold (1.137-fold change and Q value < 0.000751). Figure of merit
(FOM) was used to identify eight clusters in ARR1 time course. K-means clustering, using a Pearson correlation as the distance
metric, was used to group the expressed genes downstream of ARR1. Gene ontology enrichment categories were found using
ChipEnrich software [44] (http://www.arexdb.org/software.html). Heatmaps were obtained using TMeV freeware (http://www.tm4.
org/) (Figure 2A and Figure S2A). Genes induced by dexamethasone alone were not included in the list of ARR1DDDK differentially
regulated genes. The gene identities were obtained using VirtualPlant 1.0 (http://virtualplant.bio.nyu.edu/cgi-bin/vpweb/).

RNA Isolation and qRT-PCR


Total RNA was isolated from root tissues of 5-day-old seedlings using NucleoSpin RNA Plus (Macherey-Nagel) and the first strand
cDNA was synthesized using the Superscript III First Strand Synthesis System (Invitrogen). Transcript levels were monitored by
qRT-PCR using gene-specific oligonucleotide primers (PIN5 RT2F CTCTCTTGTCGTTGGTGTGC (Figure S2C), PIN5 RT2R
AGAGTGTGAGCCACACGATG (Figure S2C), QPIN5 F CTGTGAAATGGTGGCACATC (Figure S2C), QPIN5 R CCCAAGGATGCAA
GAATAGC (Figure S2C), GH3.17 qPCR-FW CGCTGAAAAGTCGTGGGAAG (Figure S1A), GH3.17 qPCR-REV AGGAAACATCGG
CAGGATCA (Figure S1A), ARR7 qPCR-FW TGTTCTTGCCGTCGATGATA (Figure S1A), ARR7 qPCR-REV TGGCATTGAGTAA

e3 Current Biology 29, 1199–1205.e1–e4, April 1, 2019


TCCGTCA (Figure S1A), ARR3 qPCR-FW AGAAGGTGCGGAGGATTTTT (Figure S1A), ARR3 qPCR-REV AGATTCCATCGAGGA
TGTGG (Figure S1A). For J2632;UAS::AtCKX1-GR expression analysis experiments, qRT-PCR was performed on material extracted
from lateral root cap cells by FACS (see Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and Microarray data acquisition section). qRT-
PCR reactions were performed with Sensi Fast SYBR (Bioline) using a 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR system (Applied Biosystems),
according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Data were analyzed using the DDCt (cycle threshold) method and normalized
with the expression of the reference gene ACTIN2 (ACTIN qPCR-FW GACCAGCTCTTCCATCGAGAA, ACTIN qPCR-REV
CAAACGAGGGCTGGAACAAG) [45–48]. For each analysis, three technical replicates of qRT-PCR were performed on two indepen-
dent RNA batches. Results were comparable in all experiments. Student’s t test was used for data significance (https://graphpad.
com/quickcalcs/ttest2.cfm).

ChIP-qRT-PCR
Chromatin generated by ChIP experiments performed on roots of either 5-day-old seedlings [10], expressing ARR1 genomic
sequence under the control of its own promoter fused to GFP (pARR1::ARR1-GFP plants) [9], or Col-0 plants were used. The enrich-
ment of the PIN5 target promoter-regions DNA was analyzed using RT-qPCR (Figure S2B). A qPCR efficiency of 2-fold amplifications
per cycle was assumed, and sequences from UBIQUITIN 10 were used to normalize the results between samples.
Tiling along the PIN5 (AT5G16530) was done using sets of adjacent specific amplified regions (Figure S2B and Table S1) along 3.1
Kb region of the PIN5 promoter.

DR5-RFP Fluorescence Quantification


The fluorescence intensity of DR5-RFP expression in WT, pin5-3 and gh3.17-1 mutant plants untreated and treated with cytokinin
5 mM for 4 h (Figure 4A) was quantified as reported in [10]. Mean Grey Value of red channel of confocal laser scanning microscope
images was measured with the software ImageJ. Mean values and SD are plotted in Figure 4B.

Antibodies
The following antibodies were used in this study: rabbit polyclonal anti-GFP (1:5000 dilution, Invitrogen); rabbit polyclonal anti-endo-
plasmin/GRP94 (1:2,500 dilution) [36]; goat anti-rabbit IgG-peroxidase conjugate (1:20,000, Pierce Biotechnology, Rockford, IL,
USA).

Subcellular Fractionation on Isopycnic Sucrose Gradients


Seedlings from A.thaliana Col-0, pGH3.17::GH3.17-GFP or NES-YC3.6 were cultured in 1/2 Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid basal
salt medium, supplemented with 3% sucrose, in axenic condition for 18 days, 6h day/8h night conditions. Roots were excised and
divided in two samples. Each sample was individually homogenized in an ice-cold mortar with a 5: 1 (v/w) ratio of homogenization
buffer [100 mM Tris-Cl pH 7.8, 10 mM KCl, 12% sucrose (w/w) and Complete protease inhibitor cocktail [Roche s.p.a.] containing
either 1 mM EDTA or 10 mM MgCl2. After homogenization, samples were clarified by centrifugation at 720 g, 5 min, 4 C to eliminate
starch and debris. GH3.17-GFP clarified MgCl2 homogenate were directly loaded on SDS-PAGE followed by protein blot with anti-
GFP antibodies, to analyzed polypeptides. Subcellular fractionation on isopycnic sucrose gradients in the presence of EDTA or
magnesium was performed as described by Ceriotti et al. [49]. Six hundred microliters of each clarified sample were loaded on
the top of 12 mL of a 16%–60% sucrose gradient and centrifuged at 100,000 g for 2 h at 4 C in a Beckman SW40.Ti rotor (Beckman,
Fullerton, CA, USA). After centrifugation, 21 fractions of 600 mL were collected. Forty microliters of each fraction were denatured and
analyzed by 15% SDS-PAGE, followed by protein blotting. Pellet of the gradient were directly resuspended in 600 mL SDS-PAGE
denaturation buffer. Immunodetection of GH3.17-GFP and NES-YC3.6 polypeptides or the ER luminal marker endoplasmin was
performed using anti-GFP or anti-endoplasmin antiserum, respectively (Figure S4).

Hormonal Treatments
5-day-old seedlings were transferred to solid one-half MS medium (mock condition) or with a suitable concentration of hormone. For
cytokinin treatment, we used trans-zeatin (tZ, Duchefa) at a final concentration of 5 mM. For dexamethasone (Dex, Sigma) treatment, a
final concentration of 10 mM was used.

QUANTIFICATION AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad (www.graphpad.com). For all the experiments, we performed the analysis with a
large enough number of samples and experimental replicates to ensure statistical significance, as reported in corresponding figure
legends and paragraphs of STAR Methods Method Details section. Details of statistical tests used and of error bars are provided
in figure legends. A global normalization step using ANOVA was used for microarray experiments [43]. For all figures samples
representative pictures of the experiments were chosen. Statistical significance is indicated by * where the p value is reported in
the corresponding figure legend and paragraph of STAR Methods Method Details section.

Current Biology 29, 1199–1205.e1–e4, April 1, 2019 e4


Current Biology, Volume 29

Supplemental Information

The Lateral Root Cap Acts as an Auxin Sink


that Controls Meristem Size
Riccardo Di Mambro, Noemi Svolacchia, Raffaele Dello Ioio, Emanuela Pierdonati, Elena
Salvi, Emanuela Pedrazzini, Alessandro Vitale, Serena Perilli, Rosangela Sozzani, Philip N.
Benfey, Wolfgang Busch, Paolo Costantino, and Sabrina Sabatini
Supplemental Data

Figure S1. GH3.17 activity in the LRC is sufficient to control root meristem size, Related to
Figure 1. (A) Relative expression of GH3.17, ARR7 and ARR3 in J2632;UAS::CKX1-GR plants
after 1 hour of dexamethasone treatment as measured by qPCR analysis on LRC cells. Expression
levels are normalized to ACTIN and 0 corresponds to mRNA levels in untreated roots. Error bars
represent SD. Asterisk indicates a significance with a P-value<0.005 (Student’s t test, n=3). (B)
Confocal microscope images of root tips of GH3.17-GFP detected in the LRC and differentiated
epidermal cells, the UAS/GAL4 driver M0126 detected only in the differentiated epidermal cells and
the UAS/GAL4 driver J2632 line detected only in the LRC. In each panel, the left half picture shows
the merge between propidium iodine (PI) and GFP channels, while the right half picture shows only
the GFP channel. Scale bar, 100 μm. (C) Bright field microscopy images of root apical meristems
of J2632;UAS::GH3.17-GR root apical meristems before and upon dexamethasone treatment
(+Dex). Blue arrowheads indicate the QC and white arrowheads indicate the cortical transition
boundary (scale bars, 100 µm). (D) Quantification of meristematic cell number of
J2632;UAS::GH3.17-GR plants. Asterisk indicates significance (P-value<0.001; Student’s t test);
n=20. Error bars represent SD.
Figure S2. Cytokinin directly regulates PIN5 expression via ARR1, Related to Figure 2. (A)
(Top) Eight K-means clusters identified using FOM within the differentially expressed genes that
were measured in microarray experiments of ARR1 induction in the LRC
(J2632;UAS::ARR1ΔDDK-GR). Red lines show the centroids of expression for genes within the
cluster, the horizontal axis indicates the time points: 0, 1 and 4 hours of induction, respectively.
(Bottom) Heat map representations of clustered genes. Yellow indicates up-regulation, blue
indicates down-regulation as indicated in the piecewise colored bar. (B) Primer positions along the
PIN5 promoter used for ChIP-qPCR. ChIP-qPCR analysis performed on 5-days old ARR1-GFP root
apical meristems. X-axis: Position relative to PIN5 transcription start site (TSS). Y-axis: fold
enrichment of anti-GFP immunoprecipitated material relative to input. Data shown are
representative of three independent experiments. Error bars indicate standard error (SE). *p < 0.005
(Student’s t test). (C) Relative expression of PIN5 in WT and arr1-3 plants before and after 3 hours
of cytokinin treatment as measured by qPCR. Error bars represent SD. Asterisk indicates a
significance with a P-value<0.001 (Student’s t test, n=3).
Figure S3. PIN5 and SHY2 operate in parallel pathways to control root meristem size, Related
to Figure 3. (A) Bright field microscopy images of root apical meristems of WT, pin5-3, shy2-31 and
pin5-3;shy2-31 double mutant plants. Blue arrowheads indicate the QC and white arrowheads
indicate the cortical transition boundary. Scale bar: 100 μm. (B) Quantification of meristematic cell
number of WT, pin5-3, shy2-31 and pin5-3;shy2-31 roots. Asterisk indicates a significance with a P-
value< 0.005. Student’s t test. n=30. Error bars represent SD. (C) Bright field microscopy images of
root apical meristems of WT, PIN5OX, gh3.17-1 and PIN5OX;gh3.17-1 double mutant plants. Blue
arrowheads indicate the QC and white arrowheads indicate the cortical transition boundary. Scale
bar: 100 μm. (B) Quantification of meristematic cell number of WT, PIN5OX, gh3.17-1 and
PIN5OX;gh3.17-1 roots. Asterisk indicates a significance with a P-value<0.001. Student’s t test.
n=20. Error bars represent SD.
Figure S4. GH3.17-GFP cofractionates with the cytosol, Related to Figure 4. Roots from
GH3.17-GFP or NES-YC3.6 were homogenized in sucrose buffer containing MgCl2 or EDTA, in
the absence of detergent. GH3.17-GFP clarified MgCl2 homogenate were directly loaded on SDS-
PAGE followed by protein blot with anti-GFP antibodies, to analysed polypeptides and check
antiserum specificity (A). The homogenates were fractionated by centrifugation on isopycnic
sucrose gradient (16%-60% w/w) in the presence of MgCl2 (B-D) or EDTA (E-G). The chelation of
Mg2+ with EDTA detaches the ribosomes from the membrane, determining a density shift of the
ER-derived microsomes to lighter fractions of the gradient. Collected fractions were analyzed by
SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblotting with anti-GFP antiserum (C, D, F, G) or with antiserum
against the ER marker endoplasmin (B, E). In the presence of MgCl2, the ER marker endoplasmin
was mainly detected in three fractions with a peak around density of 1.17 mg/mL (B); the small
proportion at top of the gradient is common for soluble ER residents and indicates either partial
release from the ER lumen upon homogenation or partial traffic form the ER to the vacuole.
Chelation of Mg2+ by EDTA caused shift of endoplasmin to lighter fractions, consistent with the
expected shift of ER density (E). GH3.17-GFP was exclusively detected in the lightest fractions at
the top of the gradient, both in the present of MgCl2 or EDTA (C, F), where the cytosolic marker
NES-YC3.6 was also detected (D, G). No GH3.17-GFP polypeptides were localized in fractions
containing the ER. The identity of polypeptides is indicated at right. Numbers at top indicate the
density (g/ml) of sucrose. Numbers at left indicate the position of molecular mass markers, in kD.
PIN5_Oligo1F AAACCGGGTGGTTCATGTTA
PIN5_Oligo1R CAAAGGCAAAGCTAGAAACGA
PIN5_Oligo2F TGGTGTACCCTTCAAGTTCTAAA
PIN5_Oligo2R TAGCCGCATCAACAACACTC
PIN5_Oligo3F CGAAGCAATGAAGGAACAGA
PIN5_Oligo3R TCCAAGTGCAGGTGGAATAA
PIN5_Oligo4F TGAAAGATTAGTGTGTGGATATGGA
PIN5_Oligo4R GCAGCCAATAGAAAGGGAAA
PIN5_Oligo5F TGAAAGATTGAAAGGAAAACGAA
PIN5_Oligo5R TCCCAAACCACAAAAACAAA
PIN5_Oligo6F GCTAGCTATTTCTGACATAATTCAAG
PIN5_Oligo6R TTCTCTCATTCATTCATTCATCG
PIN5_Oligo7F CATCAGTCAAATCCCCCTTT
PIN5_Oligo7R TGGAAACACCTATCTTTACCAAA
PIN5_Oligo8F TGTAATAGAAAAGACTTTGTGAATGGA
PIN5_Oligo8R ATTGCTAGGTGCAATATCATCA
PIN5_Oligo9F AATGGCTTCCTCAATCCTCA
PIN5_Oligo9R TGGCCATGTCTTTCTTCTTTG
PIN5_Oligo10F GTCGTAGGGCACAAATACCC
PIN5_Oligo10R CCACTTTCATAAAATGGGAGCA
PIN5_Oligo11F ATTTGGTTAGTCTCATGTGTTGTG
PIN5_Oligo11R GCTTTAGCACCATAACTAGAAGATCG
PIN5_Oligo12F CAGGAAACAATTGGAATAGAATCA
PIN5_Oligo12R AAATCAACCTCATATTTTTAGCCATT
PIN5_Oligo13F TGAACATGTTGGTTTCTCTATCG
PIN5_Oligo13R GAAATGTTGCAGTAGTAGCAAACG
NEGPIN5_Oligo1F TCGCATGGGCTTTTATTTCT
NEGPIN5_Oligo1R TCCCTGATCACACATACTAATTAACAC
NEGPIN5_Oligo2F CCGGGCATATTAGAGGGTTC
NEGPIN5_Oligo2R TGCATGGACATAAATAAACGTACC
UBQ10-F GGCCTTGTATAATCCCTGATGAATAAG
UBQ10-R AAAGAGATAACAGGAACGGAAACATA

Table S1. ChIP-qPCR primers, Related to STAR Methods.

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