ROS regulation of stigma papillae growth and maturation in Arabidopsis thaliana

Key message: Superoxide accumulates during early stigma papillae growth stages in Arabidopsis. Abstract: Highly specialized stigma papillae cells play a critical role in plant reproduction. Their main purpose is to catch and interact with pollen, to mediate compatibility responses, to regulate pollen germination, and to guide pollen tubes to the transmitting tract so that the sperm cells carried in the pollen can be delivered to the female gametophyte to achieve double fertilization. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the stigma consists of single-celled stigma papillae that emerge from the apex of the fused carpels. Despite their critical function in plant reproduction, the molecular mechanisms that govern growth and maturation of stigma papillae remain poorly understood. Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) have been implicated in stigma receptivity, but their roles in papillae development are less explored. Here we show that reactive oxygen species (ROS) also play different roles in stigma papillae development, with superoxide accumulating during the initiation and growth phase and hydrogen peroxide accumulating in mature papillae that are receptive to pollen. Reducing superoxide levels in the stigma by pharmacological treatments or over-expressing superoxide dismutase enzymes under an early stigma promoter inhibited stigma papillae growth, suggesting that ROS homeostasis is critical to papillae growth and differentiation for optimal pollination.