Decoding the genetic basis of secretory tissues in plants

Abstract

Although plant secretory tissues play important roles in host defense against herbivores and pathogens and the attraction of insect pollinators, their genetic control remains elusive. Here, it is focused that current progress has been made in the genetic regulatory mechanisms underpinning secretory tissue development in land plants. C1HDZ transcription factors (TFs) are found to play crucial roles in the regulation of internal secretory tissues in liverworts and Citrus as well as external secretory tissues in peach. C1HDZ TFs regulate secretory tissue development via synergistic interaction with AP2/ERF and MYC TFs. Thus, a set of genes are speculated to be recruited convergently for the formation of secretory tissues in land plants.

Acknowledgments

This project was financially supported by funds received from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U23A20206), the Key Special Project of Intergovernmental International Cooperation of the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFE0125100), and the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-30). Thanks Zamith Kerubo Oginga for drawing the picture.

Data availability statement

All data are available in the manuscript.

Competing interests

No.

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