Effects of strigolactone signaling on Arabidopsis growth under nitrogen deficient stress condition.

Strigolactones (SLs) are a group of terpenoid lactones found in plants that regulate diverse developmental phenomena. SLs are thought to be involved in the maintenance of phosphate homeostasis. In addition, SL signaling is required for the regulation of shoot branching by nitrogen supply in Arabidopsis. In this study, we evaluated the effects of SLs on nitrogen deficient-inducing phenomena (leaf senescence and reduction of plant weight) in Arabidopsis. SL-biosynthesis (max1-1) and SL-insensitive (atd14-1) mutants showed altered responses to nitrogen deficient in comparison with wild-type (WT) plants. Nitrogen deficient conditions led to alterations in the expression levels of SL biosynthesis genes (MAX3 and MAX4). These results indicate that SLs could be key mediators of plant growth response to nitrogen supply.