CASP microdomain formation requires cross cell wall stabilization of domains between neighbors and non-cell autonomous action of LOTR1 cell wall protein
SummaryEfficient uptake of nutrients in both animal and plant cells requires tissue-spanning diffusion barriers separating inner tissues from the outer lumen/soil. However, we poorly understand how these contiguous three-dimensional superstructures are formed in plants. Here, we show that correct establishment of the plant Casparian Strip (CS) network requires neighbor communication. We show that positioning of Casparian Strip membrane domains (CSDs) is tightly coordinated between neighbors in wild-type and that restriction of domain formation involves the putative extracellular protease LOTR1. Impaired domain restriction in lotr1 is associated with disrupted CSDs and establishment of fully functional CSD at ectopic positions, forming “half strips”. LOTR1 is expressed in stele and needs to be expressed there. Endodermal expression, by contrast, cannot complement, while cortex expression causes a dominant-negative phenotype. Our findings establish LOTR1 as a crucial player in CSD positioning acting in a non-cell-autonomous pathway to restrict and coordinate CS positioning.