ALS3 encodes a phloem-localized ABC transporter-like protein that is required for aluminum tolerance in Arabidopsis.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity in acid soils is a worldwide agricultural problem that severely limits crop productivity through inhibition of root growth. Previously, Arabidopsis mutants with increased Al sensitivity were isolated in order to identify genes important for Al tolerance in plants. One mutant, als3, exhibited extreme root growth inhibition in the presence of Al, suggesting that this mutation negatively impacts a gene required for Al tolerance. Map-based cloning of the als3-1 mutation resulted in the isolation of a novel gene that encodes a previously undescribed ABC transporter-like protein, which is highly homologous to a putative bacterial metal resistance protein, ybbM. Northern analysis for ALS3 expression revealed that it is found in all organs examined, which is consistent with the global nature of Al sensitivity displayed by als3, and that expression increases in roots following Al treatment. Based on GUS fusion and in situ hybridization analyses, ALS3 is primarily expressed in leaf hydathodes and the phloem throughout the plant, along with the root cortex following Al treatment. Immunolocalization indicates that ALS3 predominantly accumulates in the plasma membrane of cells that express ALS3. From our results, it appears that ALS3 encodes an ABC transporter-like protein that is required for Al resistance/tolerance and may function to redistribute accumulated Al away from sensitive tissues in order to protect the growing root from the toxic effects of Al.

Stomatal neighbor cell polarity and division in Arabidopsis.

Asymmetric divisions are key to regulating the number and patterning of stomata in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Many formative asymmetric divisions take place in neighbor cells (NCs), cells adjacent to a stoma or stomatal precursor. TOO MANY MOUTHS is a receptor-like protein required for the correct plane of NC division, resulting in the placement of the new precursor distal to the pre-existing stoma. Because plant cells usually become polarized before asymmetric division, we studied whether NCs display a cytological asymmetry as a function of cell stage and of possible division behavior. Cells that divided in the developing leaf epidermis were smaller than 400 micro m(-2) in area and included NCs as well as isolated cells. All NCs in the youngest complexes divided with comparable frequencies, but divisions became restricted to the smaller and most recently produced NCs as the stomatal complex matured. The majority of developing NCs had distally located nuclei, suggesting that nuclear position is actively regulated in NCs. NC stages exhibiting distally located nuclei were the likeliest to divide asymmetrically. However, a distal nucleus did not necessarily predict an asymmetric division, because more NCs had distal nuclei than were likely to divide. No defect was detected in nuclear distribution in tmm NCs. These data suggest that TMM uses intercellular signals to control the plane of asymmetric division after or independently of nuclear positioning.

Variable timing of developmental progression in the stomatal pathway in Arabidopsis cotyledons.

• Stomatal production depends on the rates of precursor cell formation (e.g. the formation of meristemoids by asymmetric division), and of developmental progression (e.g. the division of guard mother cells). It is not known whether these rates follow steady-state kinetics or are variable. • The timing of development was scored in Arabidopsis cotyledons in fixed and living tissue using the dental resin impression method. • Cotyledons exhibited much less of a longitudinal gradient in stomatal formation than leaves. The timing of the appearance of stomatal and precursor cells during cotyledon development varied between individual plants. Precursor cell formation ceased much earlier in the adaxial than in the abaxial epidermis. Meristemoids are precursors that form guard mother cells. The ratio of these cell types varied greatly in different plants as well as in the same epidermis through time. There was also considerable variability in the duration of the meristemoid stage between individual cell lineages. • Precursor cell production follows non-steady-state kinetics. Early steps in the pathway are not necessarily synchronized, but later steps, such as the conversion of meristemoids to guard mother cells, sometimes appear to be coordinated.