Inhibition of the Gravitropic Shoot Bending in Stored Cut Flowers Through Control of Their Graviperception: Involvement of the Cytoskeleton and Cytosolic Calcium

Original objectives: The basic goal of the present project was to study the mechanism involved in shoot graviperception and early transduction, in order to determine the sequence of events operating in this process. This will enable to control the entire process of gravity-induced differential growth without affecting vertical growth processes essential for development. Thus, several new postulated interactions, operating at the perception and early transduction stages of the signaling cascade leading to auxin-mediated bending, were proposed to be examined in snapdragon spikes and oat shoot pulvini, according to the following research goals: 1) Establish the role of amyloplasts as gravireceptors in shoots; 2) Investigate gravity-induced changes in the integrity of shoot actin cytoskeleton (CK); 3) Study the cellular interactions among actin CK, statoliths and cell membranes (endoplasmic reticulum - ER, plasma membrane - PM) during shoot graviperception; 4) Examine mediation of graviperception by modulations of cytosolic calcium - [Ca2+]cyt, and other second messengers (protein phosphorylation, inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate - IP3). Revisions: 1) Model system: in addition to snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus L.) spikes and oat (Avena sativa) shoot pulvini, the model system of maize (Zea mays) primary roots was targeted to confirm a more general mechanism for graviperception. 2) Research topic: brassinolide, which were not included in the original plan, were examined for their regulatory role in gravity perception and signal transduction in roots, in relation to auxin and ethylene. Background to the topic: The negative gravitropic response of shoots is a complex multi-step process that requires the participation of various cellular components acting in succession or in parallel. Most of the long-lasting studies regarding the link between graviperception and cellular components were focused mainly on roots, and there are relatively few reports on shoot graviperception. Our previous project has successfully characterized several key events occurring during shoot bending of cut flowers and oat pulvini, including amyloplast displacement, hormonal interactions and differential growth analysis. Based on this evidence, the present project has focused on studying the initial graviperception process in flowering stems and cereal shoots. Major conclusions and achievements: 1) The actin and not the microtubule (MT) CK is involved in the graviperception of snapdragon shoots. 2) Gravisensing, exhibited by amyloplast displacement, and early transduction events (auxin redistribution) in the gravitropic response of snapdragon spikes are mediated by the acto-myosin complex. 3) MTs are involved in stem directional growth, which occurs during gravitropism of cut snapdragon spikes, but they are not necessary for the gravity-induced differential growth. 4) The role of amyloplasts as gravisensors in the shoot endodermis was demonstrated for both plant systems. 5) A gravity-induced increase in IP.