The cysteine-rich receptor-like protein kinase CRK28 modulates Arabidopsis growth and development and influences abscisic acid responses

Receptor-like kinases (RLK) orchestrate development and adaptation to environmental changes in plants. One of the largest RLK groups comprises cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs), for which the function of most members remains unknown. In this report, we show that the loss of function of CRK28 led to the formation of roots that are longer and more branched than the parental (Col-0) plantlets, and this correlates with an enhanced domain of the mitotic reporter CycB1:uidA in primary root meristems, whereas CRK28 overexpressing lines had the opposite phenotype, including slow root growth and reduced lateral root formation. Epidermal cell analyses revealed that crk28 mutants had reduced root hair length and increased trichome number, whereas 35S::CRK28 lines present primary roots with longer root hairs but lesser trichomes in leaves. The overall growth in soil of crk28 mutant and CRK28 overexpressing lines was reduced or enhanced, respectively, when compared to the parental (Col-0) seedlings, while germination, root growth and expression analyses of ABI3 and ABI5 further showed that CRK28 modulates ABA responses, which may be important to fine-tune plant morphogenesis. Our study unravels the participation of RLK signaling in root growth and epidermal cell differentiation.