Fuente: PubMed "plant biotechnology" Plant Cell Rep. 2026 Jan 8;45(1):22. doi: 10.1007/s00299-025-03699-0.ABSTRACTThe AtVIP1-SbARF7 module controls root development via auxin signaling, offering insights into root regulatory networks and crop improvement. Plant root development is regulated by the auxin signaling pathway. It has been found that AtVIP1 (Arabidopsis thaliana VirE2-interacting Protein 1) gene overexpression promotes lateral root growth in sorghum, but its mechanism of action is not clear. The purpose of this study is to analyze the molecular mechanism by which AtVIP1 regulates sorghum root development through the auxin pathway, By constructing AtVIP1 overexpressing and silencing lines, it was found that overexpressing plants had a more developed root system (increased number of lateral root primordia and increased root volume), whereas silencing lines had suppressed growth. Expression analysis showed that AtVIP1 was enriched in root tips and lateral root primordia with subcellular localization in the nucleoplasm. Hormone treatment confirmed that AtVIP1 promoted auxin accumulation through the IAA pathway and stably up-regulated the expression of downstream genes such as SbYUCCA2 and SbIAA14. Y1H and EMSA confirmed that AtVIP1 directly binds to the SbARF7 promoter. The Dual-Luciferase Reporter constructed shows that AtVIP1 increases the promoter activity of SbARF7 by 2.3 times. After silencing SbARF7 in the background of AtVIP1-OE, the root branches decreased, indicating that AtVIP1 promotes root development by activating SbARF7 transcription. This study reveals the molecular mechanism by which the AtVIP1-SbARF7 module regulates root development through the auxin signaling pathway, providing new insights into the transcriptional regulatory network of root development and potential targets for the genetic improvement of crop root traits.PMID:41504905 | DOI:10.1007/s00299-025-03699-0