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This content will become publicly available on November 1, 2025

Title: Sucrose-responsive osmoregulation of plant cell size by a long non-coding RNA
In plants, sugars are the key source of energy and metabolic building blocks. The systemic transport of sugars is essential for plant growth and morphogenesis. Plants evolved intricate molecular networks to effectively distribute sugars. The dynamic distribution of these osmotically active compounds is a handy tool for regulating cell turgor pressure, an instructive force in developmental biology. In this study, we have investigated the molecular mechanism behind the dual role of the receptor-like kinase CANAR. We functionally characterized a long non-coding RNA, CARMA, as a negative regulator of CANAR. Sugar-responsive CARMA specifically fine-tunes CANAR expression in the phloem, the route of sugar transport. Our genetic, molecular, microscopy, and biophysical data suggest that the CARMA–CANAR module controls the shoot-to-root phloem transport of sugars, allows cells to flexibly adapt to the external osmolality by appropriate water uptake, and thus adjust the size of vascular cell types during organ growth and development. Our study identifies a nexus of plant vascular tissue formation with cell internal pressure monitoring, revealing a novel functional aspect of long non-coding RNAs in developmental biology.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1751385
PAR ID:
10599951
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Cell Press
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Molecular Plant
Volume:
17
Issue:
11
ISSN:
1674-2052
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1719 to 1732
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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