Munenori Kitagawa

Huazhong Agricultural University | HZAU · College of Horticulture and Forestry

Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in multicellular organisms can act as signals transported cell-to-cell and over long distances. In plants, mRNAs traffic cell-to-cell via plasmodesmata (PDs) and over long distances via the phloem vascular system to control diverse biological processes - such as cell fate and tissue patterning - in destination organs. Researc...

Plant cells are surrounded by a cell wall and do not migrate, which makes the regulation of cell division orientation crucial for development. Regulatory mechanisms controlling cell division orientation may have contributed to the evolution of body organization in land plants. The GRAS family of transcription factors was transferred horizontally fr...

Multicellular organisms use transcripts and proteins as signaling molecules for cell-to-cell communication. Maize KNOTTED1 (KN1) was the first homeodomain transcription factor identified in plants, and functions in maintaining shoot stem cells. KN1 acts non-cell autonomously, and both its messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein traffic between cells throu...

MRNA migration through plasmodesmata In plants, certain transcription factors are produced in one cell but transported, sometimes as messenger RNA (mRNA), through plasmodesmata, channels between neighboring plant cells, where they act. This system helps to manage stem cell development. Kitagawa et al . now identify part of the machinery that manage...

Plasmodesmata (PD) are channels in the walls of plant cells which enable cell-to-cell information transfer. This includes the selective transport of specific transcription factors that control cell fate during plant development. KNOTTED1 (KN1) homeobox (KNOX) family transcription factors that are essential for the maintenance and function of stem c...

The localization of a protein provides important information about its biological functions. The visualization of proteins by immunofluorescence has become an essential approach in cell biology. Here, we describe an easy‐to‐follow immunofluorescence protocol to localize proteins in whole‐mount tissues of maize ( Zea mays ) and Arabidopsis. We prese...

In 2020 we suffered from a major global pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Efforts to contain the virus include the development of rapid tests and vaccines, which require a ready supply of viral proteins. Here we report the production of two SARS-CoV-2 proteins by transient transformation of tobacco, leading to high expression within th...

Cell-to-cell communication is tightly regulated in response to environmental stimuli in plants. We previously used photoconvertible fluorescent protein Dendra2 as a model reporter to study this process. This experiment revealed that macromolecular trafficking between protonemal cells in Physcomitrella patens is suppressed in response to abscisic ac...

In plants, the stem cells that form the shoot system reside within the shoot apical meristem (SAM), which is regulated by feedback signaling between the WUSCHEL (WUS) homeobox protein and CLAVATA (CLV) peptides and receptors. WUS-CLV feedback signaling can be modulated by various endogenous or exogenous factors such as chromatin state, hormone sign...

A fascinating feature of plant growth and development is that plants initiate organs continually throughout their lifespan. The ability to do this relies on specialized groups of pluripotent stem cells termed meristems, which allow for the elaboration of the shoot, root, and vascular systems. We now have a deep understanding of the genetic networks...

In plants, the stem cells that form the shoot system reside within the shoot apical meristem (SAM), which is regulated by feedback signaling between the WUSCHEL (WUS) homeobox protein and CLAVATA (CLV) peptides and receptors. WUS-CLV feedback signaling can be modulated by various endogenous or exogenous factors such as chromatin state, hormone sign...

In multi-cellular organisms, cell-to-cell communication is crucial for adapting to changes in the surrounding environment. In plants, plasmodesmata (PD) provide a unique pathway for cell-to-cell communication. PD interconnect most cells and generate a cytoplasmic continuum, allowing the trafficking of various micro- and macromolecules between cells...

Positional information is crucial for the determination of plant cell fates, and it is established based on coordinated cell-to-cell communication, which in turn is essential for plant growth and development. Plants have evolved a unique communication pathway, with tiny channels called plasmodesmata (PD) spanning the cell wall. PD interconnect most...

The shoot stem cell niche, contained within the shoot apical meristem (SAM) is maintained in Arabidopsis by the homeodomain protein SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM). STM is a mobile protein that traffics cell-to-cell, presumably through plasmodesmata. In maize, the STM homolog KNOTTED1 shows clear differences between mRNA and protein localization domains i...

Ferredoxin : NADP(H) oxidoreductase (FNR) plays a key role in redox metabolism in plastids. Whereas leaf FNR (LFNR) is required for photosynthesis, root FNR (RFNR) is believed to provide electrons to ferredoxin (Fd)-dependent enzymes, including nitrite reductase (NiR) and Fd-glutamine-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (Fd-GOGAT) in non-photosynthetic c...

Plant growth, development, and environmental responses require the proper regulation of intercellular movement of signals and nutrients. For this, plants have specialized cytoplasmic channels, the plasmodesmata (PD), which allow the symplasmic movement of micro- and macromolecules between neighboring cells. Internal and external signals spatio-temp...

Cell-to-cell transport of molecules in plants must be properly regulated for plant growth and development. One specialized mechanism that plants have evolved involves transport through plasmodesmata (PD), but when and how transport of molecules via PD is regulated among individual cells remains largely unknown, particularly at the single-cell level...