Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient for organisms. In plants, B is known to stabilize the cell wall by crosslinking Rhamnogalacturonan II through ester bonds formed with cis-diols of sugar moieties. However, B is believed to be required for additional functions such as stability and function of (plasma membrane) proteins involved in signal transduction pathways. We have recently shown that boronic acids, competitors of B, efficiently induce perfect phenocopies of monopteros mutants. This effect is enigmatic because like B, boronic acids should find numerous cellular targets and thus disturb many biologic processes ending in a spectrum of unspecific embryo phenotypes. Based on chemical characteristics of boronic acids and their derivatives we discuss reasons that could explain this unusual specificity. The peculiarities of this class of compounds could provide new tools for studying developmental processes. In fact B's capability to form (ester) cross-links between neighbored molecules through their cis-diol moieties is key for understanding its molecular functions.
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4,5Although boric acid is capable to enter and exit cells by diffusion, plasma membrane (PM) B transporters are required to adjust Bs homeostasis in plants when its concentration is too high or too low in the soil.6 Notably, active B transport is also necessary in mammals as shown by the electrogenic Na C -coupled B transporter NaBC1.7 Consequently, Bs significance for human and animal nutrition is discussed 8 and various observations in animals 9-11 support stabilizing roles for B in PM protein function -one possible target moiety being cis-diols of glycosyl residues. Interestingly, comparable roles for B in plant PM protein stability and in phytohormone signaling, specifically auxin (D IAA, indole-3-acetic acid), have been proposed.
12Our work places one possible role of B very near to these ideas. 13 It was prompted by an earlier report, where phenylboronic acid (PBA) was shown to induce monocotyly in Eranthis hyemalis.14 Boronic acids such as PBA are specific B competitors with the same binding specificity as boric acid but cannot serve to cross-link two molecules.15 PBA treatment of Arabidopsis thaliana embryos phenocopied monopteros mutants (mp-phenocopies) by specifically affecting embryonic root development. This process depends on two essential signals -the presence of an auxin maximum and of the transcription factor (TF) TARGET OF MONOPTEROS 7 (TMO7) in the hypophysis cell.16 Both signals are in-/ directly controlled by the TF MONOPTEROS (MP), which becomes active when its repressor BODENLOS (BDL) is degraded. This in turn depends -on the presence of auxin, which is mainly transported by the efflux carrier PIN-FORMED1 (PIN1). With this element a feedback loop regulation is established because MP itself activates PIN1 and TMO7. Our analysis of mp-phenocopies detected two possible points where PBA affects this system: the degradation of BDL and/or the stability of PIN1 at the PM.The induction of the mp phenocopies by boron...