Open AccessThe intrinsic chaperone network of Arabidopsis stem cells confers protection against proteotoxic stress
Author(s) -
Llamas Ernesto,
TorresMontilla Salvador,
Lee Hyun Ju,
Barja María Victoria,
Schlimgen Elena,
Dunken Nick,
Wagle Prerana,
Werr Wolfgang,
Zuccaro Alga,
RodríguezConcepción Manuel,
Vilchez David
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
aging cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1474-9726
pISSN - 1474-9718
DOI - 10.1111/acel.13446
Subject(s) - proteostasis , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , stem cell , arabidopsis , unfolded protein response , clpb , cellular differentiation , heat shock protein , genetics , endoplasmic reticulum , mutant , gene
The biological purpose of plant stem cells is to maintain themselves while providing new pools of differentiated cells that form organs and rejuvenate or replace damaged tissues. Protein homeostasis or proteostasis is required for cell function and viability. However, the link between proteostasis and plant stem cell identity remains unknown. In contrast to their differentiated counterparts, we find that root stem cells can prevent the accumulation of aggregated proteins even under proteotoxic stress conditions such as heat stress or proteasome inhibition. Notably, root stem cells exhibit enhanced expression of distinct chaperones that maintain proteome integrity. Particularly, intrinsic high levels of the T‐complex protein‐1 ring complex/chaperonin containing TCP1 (TRiC/CCT) complex determine stem cell maintenance and their remarkable ability to suppress protein aggregation. Overexpression of CCT8, a key activator of TRiC/CCT assembly, is sufficient to ameliorate protein aggregation in differentiated cells and confer resistance to proteotoxic stress in plants. Taken together, our results indicate that enhanced proteostasis mechanisms in stem cells could be an important requirement for plants to persist under extreme environmental conditions and reach extreme long ages. Thus, proteostasis of stem cells can provide insights to design and breed plants tolerant to environmental challenges caused by the climate change.