Stomata are highly specialized epidermal structures that control transpiration and gas exchange between plants and the environment. Signal networks underlying stomatal development have been previously uncovered, however, much less is known about how signals involved in stomatal development are transmitted to RNA polymerase II (Pol II), which plays a central role in the transcription of mRNA coding genes. Herein, we identified a partial loss-of-function mutation of the third largest subunit of nuclear DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II (NRPB3) that exhibited an increased number of stomatal lineage cells and paired stomata. Phenotypic and genetic analyses indicated that NRPB3 was not only required for correct stomatal patterning, but was also essential for stomatal differentiation. Protein-protein interaction assays showed that NRPB3 directly interacted with two basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors, FAMA and INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSION1 (ICE1), indicating that NRPB3 serves as an acceptor for signals from transcription factors involved in stomatal development. Our findings highlight the surprisingly conserved activating mechanisms mediated by the third largest subunit of Pol II in eukaryotes.
Call for papers: Uncovering Developmental Diversity
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue: Uncovering Developmental Diversity. This issue will be coordinated by our academic Editor Cassandra Extavour (Harvard University, USA) alongside two Guest Editors: Liam Dolan (Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria) and Karen Sears (University of California Los Angeles, USA).
Choose Development in 2024
In this Editorial, Development Editor-in-Chief James Briscoe and Executive Editor Katherine Brown explain how you support your community by publishing in Development and how the journal champions serious science, community connections and progressive publishing.
Journal Meeting: From Stem Cells to Human Development
Register now for the 2024 Development Journal Meeting From Stem Cells to Human Development. Early-bird registration deadline: 3 May. Abstract submission deadline: 21 June.
Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology
This collaborative Perspective, the result of a workshop held in 2023, proposes a set of community actions to increase the visibility of the developmental biology field. The authors make recommendations for new funding streams, frameworks for collaborations and mechanisms by which members of the community can promote themselves and their research.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say
We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.
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