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CELL BIOLOGY AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION

Trehalose-6-Phosphate Synthase/Phosphatase Regulates Cell Shape and Plant Architecture in Arabidopsis^1,[W],[OA]

Center for Plant Cell Biology, Institute for Integrative Genome Biology (S.N.C., G.R.H., Y.G.C., D.C., N.V.R.), and Department of Botany and Plant Sciences (S.N.C., G.R.H., N.V.R.), University of California, Riverside, California 92521

The vacuole occupies most of the volume of plant cells; thus, the tonoplast marker -tonoplast intrinsic protein-green fluorescent protein delineates cell shape, for example, in epidermis. This permits rapid identification of mutants. Using this strategy, we identified the cell shape phenotype-1 (csp-1) mutant in Arabidopsis thaliana. Beyond an absence of lobes in pavement cells, phenotypes included reduced trichome branching, altered leaf serration and stem branching, and increased stomatal density. This result from a point mutation in AtTPS6 encoding a conserved amino-terminal domain, thought to catalyze trehalose-6-phosphate synthesis and a carboxy-terminal phosphatase domain, is catalyzing a two-step conversion to trehalose. Expression of AtTPS6 in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants tps1 (encoding a synthase domain) and tps2 (encoding synthase and phosphatase domains) indicates that AtTPS6 is an active trehalose synthase. AtTPS6 fully complemented defects in csp-1. Mutations in class I genes (AtTPS1–AtTPS4) indicate a role in regulating starch storage, resistance to drought, and inflorescence architecture. Class II genes (AtTPS5–AtTPS11) encode multifunctional enzymes having synthase and phosphatase activity. We show that class II AtTPS6 regulates plant architecture, shape of epidermal pavement cells, and branching of trichomes. Thus, beyond a role in development, we demonstrate that the class II gene AtTPS6 is important for controlling cellular morphogenesis.

² Present address: Dow AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46268.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Natasha V. Raikhel (nraikhel{at}ucr.edu).

^[W] The online version of this article contains Web-only data.

^[OA] Open Access articles can be viewed online without a subscription.

www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.107.107441

^* Corresponding author; e-mail nraikhel{at}ucr.edu.

Received August 15, 2007; accepted October 19, 2007; published November 2, 2007.

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Plant Physiol. 2008 146: 1-2. [Full Text]