Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Minxia Zou

Minxia Zou, first author of The auxin transport inhibitor targets villin-mediated actin dynamics to inhibit auxin transport

Current Position: PhD candidate in College of Life Science, Beijing Normal University

Education: Sept 2019 – now, Ph.D. candidate in Beijing Normal University; Sept 2011 – June 2015, Bachelor in Changsha University of Science and Technology

Non-scientific Interests: Reading, Travel, DIY

Brief bio: I am a PhD student supervised by professor Jiejie Li in Beijing Normal University. Attracted by the amazing phenomena of actin cytoskeleton dynamic in plant cell, I made up my mind to devote my future research efforts to investigate how this structure responds to internal and environmental signals. In this study, we characterized the action of 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) on actin dynamics in greater mechanistic detail. By surveying mutants for candidate actin-binding proteins with reduced TIBA sensitivity, we determined that Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) villins contribute to TIBA action. By directly interacting with the C-terminal headpiece domain of villins, TIBA causes villin to oligomerize, driving excessive bundling of actin filaments. The resulting changes in actin dynamics impair auxin transport by disrupting the trafficking of PIN auxin efflux carriers and reducing their levels at the plasma membrane (PM). Collectively, our study provides mechanistic insight into the link between the actin cytoskeleton, vesicle trafficking, and auxin transport.

 

第一作者：邹敏霞

当前职位：北京师范大学生命科学学院博士研究生

教育经历：2016.09-至今，北京师范大学，生物学，博士研究生；2011.09-2015.06，长沙理工大学，生物工程，学士

兴趣爱好：读书，旅游，手工制作

个人简介：

本科毕业后，我有幸加入了北京师范大学李杰婕教授课题组攻读博士学位。通过显微镜观察到植物微丝骨架时的新奇与激动，让我对植物细胞骨架相关研究产生了浓厚兴趣，并选择了微丝细胞骨架动态如何响应内外环境信号作为研究课题。在本课题中，我们对生长素运输抑制剂三碘苯甲酸（TIBA）作用于微丝骨架的机制做了详细的探索。通过筛选对TIBA不敏感的微丝结合蛋白突变体，我们发现拟南芥villins参与了TIBA对微丝骨架的调控。TIBA可以与villins蛋白C端VHP结构域结合，该结合导致villin蛋白寡聚化，促进微丝成束。微丝动态的改变抑制生长素输出载体PIN的胞内动态，减少PIN在细胞膜上的定位，抑制生长素的运输。总的来说，我们的研究提供了微丝细胞骨架调控囊泡运输和生长素转运的新机制。