14Casparian strips (CS) are cell wall modifications of vascular plants restricting extracellular 15 free diffusion into and out the vascular system. This barrier plays a critical role in controlling 16 the acquisition of nutrients and water necessary for normal plant development. CS are formed 17 by the precise deposition of a band of lignin approximately 2 µm wide and 150 nm thick 18 spanning the apoplastic space between adjacent endodermal cells. Here, we identified a cop-19 per-containing protein, Uclacyanin1 (UCC1) that is sub-compartmentalised within the CS. 20 UCC1 forms a central CS nanodomain in comparison with other CS-located proteins that are 21 found to be mainly accumulated at the periphery of the CS. We found that loss-of-function of 22 two uclacyanins (UCC1 and UCC2) reduces lignification specifically in this central CS 23 nanodomain, revealing a nano-compartmentalised machinery for lignin polymerisation. This 24 2 lack of lignification leads to increased endodermal permeability, and consequently to a loss 25 of mineral nutrient homeostasis. 26 27 IAN STRIP MEMBRANE DOMAIN PROTEINS (CASPs) [14]. The CASPs form a highly 42 scaffolded transmembrane domain guiding where the Casparian strip forms. Furthermore, the 43 receptor like kinase SGN3 acts as a sensor of CS integrity by inducing over-lignification of 44 the endodermal cells when the CS is defective [2,15]. 45 A network of transcriptional factors involving SHR, SCR and MYB36 controls endodermal 46 differentiation [16,17]. The MYB36 transcription factor controls the expression of most of 47 the described genes associated with CS formation, including CASPs, ESB1 and PER64 48 3 [3,18]. Characterisation of other MYB36-regulated genes could thus lead to the identification 49 of new actors involved in CS formation. 50 Here, we identified a copper-containing protein, Uclacyanin1 (UCC1) among the MYB36-51 regulated genes. UCC1 reveals a nano-compartmentalisation of the machinery required for 52 lignin polymerisation at the CS, where UCC1 occupies a central CS nanodomain in compari-53 son with other CS-located proteins. The loss of function of two uclacyanins (UCC1 and 54 UCC2) leads to an atypical CS formation, where a lack of lignification is observed in this 55 central CS nanodomain. This defect in lignification leads to increased endodermal permeabil-56 ity, and consequently to a loss of mineral nutrient homeostasis. 57 58 Results and discussion 59Among the genes downregulated in a myb36 loss-of-function mutant [3,18], we identified a 60Uclacyanin1 gene (UCC1), that belongs to the copper-containing phytocyanins family [19] 61 ( Figure 1A). This family is divided in three sub-families according to their copper binding 62 amino acid: the uclacyanins, stellacyanins and plantacyanins. The functional role of these 63 proteins remains unknown. However, biophysical and structural data of several phytocyanins 64 suggest their implication in redox reactions with small molecular weight compounds [19][20][21][22][23][24]. 65The expression of several members of ...