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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1546819
This article is part of the Research Topic The Dynamic Plant Cell Wall: Sensing, Remodelling, and Integrity View all articles

Differential expression and localization of expansins in Arabidopsis shoots: Implications for cell wall dynamics and drought tolerance

Provisionally accepted
Darina Balkova Darina Balkova 1,2Katerina Mala Katerina Mala 1Jan Hejatko Jan Hejatko 3,4Klara Panzarova Klara Panzarova 5Lamis Abdelhakim Lamis Abdelhakim 5Barbora Pleskacova Barbora Pleskacova 5Marketa Samalova Marketa Samalova 1,3*
  • 1 Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
  • 2 Department of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy
  • 3 Masaryk University, Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, Olomouc, Czechia
  • 4 National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia
  • 5 Photon Systems Instruments (Czech Republic), Brno, South Moravia, Czechia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Expansins are cell wall-modifying proteins implicated in plant growth and stress responses. In this study, we explored the differential localization of expansins in Arabidopsis thaliana shoots, with a focus on EXPA1, EXPA10, EXPA14, and EXPA15. Utilizing pEXPA::EXPA translational fusion lines, we observed distinct expression patterns of expansins, with EXPA1 primarily localized in stomatal guard cells, while EXPA10 and EXPA15 showed strong cell wall (CW) localization in epidermal and other tissues. Overexpression of EXPA1 resulted in pronounced changes in CW-related gene expression, particularly during early stages of induction, including the upregulation of other expansins and CW-modifying enzymes. The induced EXPA1 line also displayed significant morphological changes in shoots, including smaller plant size, delayed senescence, and structural alterations in vascular tissues. Additionally, EXPA1 overexpression conferred drought tolerance, as evidenced by enhanced photosynthetic efficiency (Fᵥ/FM), and low steady-state non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) values under drought stress. These findings highlight the critical role of EXPA1 in regulating plant growth, development, and stress response, with potential applications in improving drought tolerance in crops.

    Keywords: expansins, EXPA1, Arabidopsis, Cell wall remodeling, drought tolerance, Highthroughput phenotyping, Chlorophyll Fluorescence, abiotic stress

    Received: 17 Dec 2024; Accepted: 20 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Balkova, Mala, Hejatko, Panzarova, Abdelhakim, Pleskacova and Samalova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Marketa Samalova, Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czechia

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