AUTHOR=Koebke Eva , Stephan Lisa , Stetter Markus G. , Hülskamp Martin 

TITLE=Functional analysis of the BEige and Chediak-Higashi domain gene MpSPIRRIG in Marchantia polymorpha

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.915268

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.915268

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>BEige and Chediak–Higashi domain containing proteins (BDCPs) have been described to function in membrane-dependent processes in eukaryotes. This role was also observed for the BDCP SPIRRIG (SPI) in the model plant <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> in the context of cell morphogenesis. Additionally, <italic>AtSPI</italic> was found to control salt stress resistance by mediating mRNA stability and salt stress-dependent processing body formation. In this work, we utilize an evolutionarily comparative approach to unravel conserved, basal BDCP functions in the liverwort <italic>Marchantia polymorpha</italic>. Our phenotypic and physiological analyses show that Mp<italic>SPI</italic> is involved in cell morphogenesis and salt resistance regulation, indicating that both functions are evolutionarily conserved between the two species. Co-localization was found with endosomal and P-body markers, suggesting links to membrane-dependent processes and mRNA metabolism. Finally, we present transcriptomics data showing that <italic>AtSPI</italic> and Mp<italic>SPI</italic> regulate orthologous genes in <italic>A. thaliana</italic> and <italic>M. polymorpha</italic>.</p>