The chimeric leucine-rich repeat/extensin cell wall protein LRX1 is required for root hair morphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

In plants, the cell wall is a major determinant of cell morphogenesis. Cell enlargement depends on the tightly regulated expansion of the wall, which surrounds each cell. However, the qualitative and quantitative mechanisms c ontrolling cell wall enlargement are still poorly understood. Here, we repo rt the molecular and functional characterization of LRX1, a new Arabidopsis gene that encodes a chimeric leucine-rich repeat/extensin protein. LRX1 is expressed in root hair cells and the protein is specifically localized in the wall of the hair proper, where it becomes insolubilized during developm ent. lrx1-null mutants, isolated by a reverse-genetic approach, develop roo t hairs that frequently abort, swell, or branch. Complementation and overex pression experiments using modified LRX1 proteins indicate that the interac tion with the cell wall is important for LRX1 function. These results sugge st that LRX1 is an extracellular component of a mechanism regulating root h air morphogenesis and elongation by controlling either polarized growth or cell wall formation and assembly.