The upstream regulation of the root cell wall when Arabidopsis thaliana in response to toxic metal ions focusing on Al

In acid soil, aluminum (Al) toxicity is one of the main factors limiting agricultural output. As is known to all, the cell wall is the first line of defense against metals that serves as a significant target of Al toxicity and also is crucial for Al detoxification. However, nothing is known about how this process is transcriptionally regulated. Here, we describe recent findings to understand the role of two kinds of transcription factors in regulating the cell wall composition and modification in response to Al stress in Arabidopsis thaliana. ANAC017 encodes a NAM, ATAF1/2, and cup-shaped cotyledon 2 (NAC) transcription factor, loss function of ANAC017 enhanced Al tolerance with the decreased Al content and xyloglucan content in the cell wall. Next, we characterized one xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH), XTH31, which is previously reported to participate in Al stress, acted downstream of ANAC017 to regulate Al tolerance in Arabidopsis. In addition, we also identified MYB103, an R2R3-type transcription factor. MYB103 disruption caused Al sensitivity, and myb103 mutants’ xyloglucan had a high O-acetylation level. Additionally, it was discovered that TRICHOME BIREFRINGENCE-LIKE27 (TBL27), which is in charge of xyloglucan’s O-acetylation, functions downstream of MYB103 through the direct binding of the MYB103 to the promoter of the TBL27 to influence Arabidopsis’s sensitivity to Al. In summary, our research showed that two distinct molecular modules modulate Arabidopsis cell wall composition and modification to positively influence Al resistance.