The receptor-like kinases BAM1 and BAM2 are required for root xylem patterning

Abstract

Significance Plant miRNAs can move from cell to cell through cytoplasmic channels called plasmodesmata, transmitting positional information that is decoded to make developmental decisions; one well-studied example of this is xylem patterning in the root of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana , which depends on the formation of opposing gradients of two miRNAs and their target transcripts. Here, we show that two plasma membrane- and plasmodesmata-localized proteins, BAM1 and BAM2, are required for maintaining appropriate levels and distribution of the miRNA target transcripts, and hence for proper root xylem patterning, uncovering additional players in the regulation of this developmental process and adding one more function, direct or indirect, to the ever-growing portfolio of BAM1 and BAM2.