MYB93 regulates responses to environmental sulphur in Arabidopsis and
tomato.
Abstract
Sulphur (S) is an important nutrient that has wide-ranging effects on
plant health and metabolism. Several classes of transcription factor
respond to S deprivation, including R2R3-MYBs. In Arabidopsis,
the AtMYB93 transcription factor-encoding gene is upregulated by
S deprivation. AtMYB93 has a non-redundant function in lateral
root development and redundant functions in suberin biosynthesis
alongside related MYB transcription factors, but AtMYB93’s role
in S signalling, and how it relates to lateral root development, is
unknown. We show that the transcriptome of Atmyb93 mutant roots
implicates AtMYB93 in responses to S, including changes in S
transport and metabolism, and flavonoid- and carbohydrate metabolism.
Elemental analysis demonstrates that the Atmyb93 mutant has
elevated shoot S levels while tomato SlMYB93-overexpressing
plants have reduced shoot S. We uncover a stimulatory effect of S
deprivation on adventitious root development. However, Atmyb93
mutants do not show significant changes in sensitivity to S with respect
to lateral- or adventitious root development, most likely due to some
functional redundancy. We show that the increase in AtMYB93
expression upon S deprivation is not due to global effects of S on its
regulator SCARECROW. Furthermore, we show that AtMYB93 interacts
with AtMPK3 and that the Atmpk3 mutant has elevated
lateral root density. Taken together, our data suggest that
AtMYB93 has a role in mediating root responses to S in alongside
other root transcription factors.