FERONIA regulates auxin-mediated lateral root development and primary root gravitropism

Abstract

The Arabidopsis FERONIA (FER) receptor kinase is a key hub of cell signaling networks mediating various hormone, stress, and immune responses. Previous studies have shown that FER functions correlate with auxin responses, but the underlying molecular mechanism is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the primary root of the fer-4 mutant displays increased lateral root branching and a delayed gravitropic response, which are associated with polar auxin transport (PAT). Our data suggest that aberrant PIN2 polarity is responsible for the delayed gravitropic response in fer-4. Furthermore, the diminished F-actin cytoskeleton in fer-4 implies that FER modulates F-actin-mediated PIN2 polar localization. Our findings provide new insights into the function of FER in PAT.