Evidence for the presence of PLETHORA homologs in plant species displaying diverse regenerative responses

Abstract

De novo root regeneration (DNRR) is a plant regeneration caused by mechanical injury in which the detached leaf explant from the parent plant develops roots from the cut end. The model organism Arabidopsis thaliana exhibits a DNRR response when the cut end of a detached leaf touches the physical surface. In contrast, if the cut end does not make contact with any physical surface, it exhibits a wound-healing response in the form of callus formation. The DNRR response in A. thaliana is controlled by transcription factors (TFs) such as PLETHORAs (PLTs). Previous research showed that PLTs are essential for the DNRR. The main goal of this study is to investigate PLT homologs and examine similar patterns of regeneration in diverse plant species. The results demonstrate that the ability to show the DNRR response is evident in other plant species examined for the study. But nonetheless, there are certain variations also observed. Moreover, PLT homologous genes were identified in various plant species using a sequencing and bioinformatics approach. It is possible to show a correlation of these homologous genes in the DNRR by analyzing their gene expression patterns. Besides this, the objective is to generate polyclonal antibodies against the Arabidopsis PLT proteins in order to detect homologous proteins in other plant species. Finally, the ultimate objective of this research is to discover a universal regulatory module of regeneration that may be common to all plant species.