New research linking fungal elicitors and root hair growth published in Plant, Cell & Environment

Although angiosperm plants generally react to immunity elicitors like chitin or chitosan by the cell wall callose deposition, this response in particular cell types, especially upon chitosan treatment, is not fully understood. In this paper we showed that the growing root hairs (RHs) of Arabidopsis can respond to a mild (0.001%) chitosan treatment by the callose deposition and by a deceleration of the RH growth. Our results thus reveal the unexpected aspects of the RH growth-defence trade-off, and set the basis for possible future modifications of the balanced resistance and fitness.

Drs M, Krupař P, Škrabálková E, Haluška S, Müller K, Potocká A, Brejšková L, Serrano N, Voxeur A, Vernhettes S, Ortmannová J, Caldarescu G, Fendrych M, Potocký M, Žárský V, Pečenková T* (2024) Chitosan stimulates root hair callose deposition and inhibits root hair growth, PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT, in press, doi:10.1111/pce.15111.

New paper on lipid signalling in tip-growing cells published in New Phytologist

Pollen tubes require a tightly regulated pectin secretion machinery to sustain the cell wall plasticity required for polar tip growth. Phosphoinositides and phosphatidic acid are nvolved in this regulation at the apical plasma membrane, but the processes regulating their production are still unclear. In collaboration with Till Ischebeck group from the University of Göttingen, we described that diacylglycerol kinase 5 plays major role in the regulation of pectin secretion in tip growing pollen tubes.

Scholz P#, Pejchar P#*, Fernkorn M, Škrabálková E, Pleskot R, Blersch B, Munnik T, Potocký M, Ischebeck T* (2022) DIACYLGLYCEROL KINASE 5 regulates polar tip growth of tobacco pollen tubes. NEW PHYTOLOGIST, in press, DOI:10.1111/nph.17930

Our new paper on exocyst recruitment to the plasma membrane is out in PNAS

Happy to present our new PNAS paper, showing the architecture of plant exocyst complex and the mechanism of its membrane recruitment. In plants, a single subunit EXO70A1 is doing the job via interactions with multiple lipids.

Lukáš Synek#, Roman Pleskot#, Juraj Sekereš#, Natalia Serrano, Nemanja Vukašinović, Jitka Ortmannová, Martina Klejchová, Přemysl Pejchar, Klára Batystová, Malgorzata Gutkowska, Edita Janková-Drdová, Vedrana Marković, Tamara Pečenková, Jiří Šantrůček, Viktor Žárský* and Martin Potocký* (2021) Plasma membrane phospholipid signature recruits the plant exocyst complex via the EXO70A1 subunit. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 118(36):e2105287118. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2105287118