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Struggling for Light: DELLA Regulation During Plant-Plant Interactions

Ronald Pierik, Tanja Djakovic-Petrovic, Mieke de Wit and Laurentius ACJ Voesenek

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We recently described how DELLA proteins are involved in plant growth responses to neighbors in dense stands. These responses that are called shade avoidance include enhanced stem and petiole elongation and are a classic example of adaptive phenotypic plasticity. Although much is known about neighbour detection, much less is known about the signal transduction network downstream of these signals. We will discuss here how a group of growth-supressors, called DELLA proteins, are functionally regulated upon the detection of neighbours. DELLA proteins are degraded upon binding of gibberellin (GA) to its receptor, thus releasing the restraint of GA responses. We discuss here that GA positively regulates shade avoidance by reducing DELLA protein levels. Furthermore, we will show that this is an essential step in shade avoidance, but also that reduced DELLA abundance alone is not sufficient to induce these growth responses. It is concluded that GA-dependent DELLA degradation is one essential step in the signal transduction network from light-mediated neighbour detection towards adaptive shoot elongation responses.

Authors

Ronald Pierik

Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NL

Tanja Djakovic-Petrovic

Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NL

Mieke de Wit

Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, NL

Laurentius ACJ Voesenek

Plant Ecophysiology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands

Purchase article for $19

Subscribe to this journal for $79/year