Arabidopsis floral buds are locked through stress-induced sepal tip curving

Abstract

In most plant species, sepals—the outermost floral organs—provide a protective shield for reproductive organs. How the floral bud becomes sealed is unknown. In Arabidopsis, we identified a small region at the sepal tip that is markedly curved inward early on and remains curved even after anthesis. Through modelling and quantitative growth analysis, we find that this hook emerges from growth arrest at the tip at a stage when cortical microtubules align with growth-derived tensile stress. Depolymerizing microtubules specifically at young sepal tips hindered hook formation and resulted in open floral buds. Mutants with defective growth pattern at the tip failed to curve inwards, whereas mutants with enhanced alignment of cortical microtubules at the tip exhibited a stronger hook. We propose that floral buds are locked due to a stress-derived growth arrest event curving the sepal tip and forming a rigid hook early on during flower development. Floral buds are closed structures that protect reproductive organs. Here the authors find that differential growth prescribes transverse tensile stress and growth arrest at the sepal tip, which in turn curve it and form a rigid hook to seal the floral bud.