Our latest nearly-back-to-back outputs in Current Biology and Nature Communications: for years we have known that autocrine CLE45 peptide signaling via its receptor BAM3 suppresses protophloem sieve element differentiation. What remained unclear was, how ? And, how do developing protophloem sieve elements eventually evade this inhibitory signal?
The answers are in our two latest papers: CLE45 peptide signaling directly interferes with auxin efflux regulation in the protophloem, the latter being essential to guide the differentiation process. And: developing protophloem sieve elements evade the inhibitory CLE45 signal by alkalanizing their apoplast.
