BUZZ: an essential gene for postinitiation root hair growth and a mediator of root architecture in Brachypodium distachyon

Summary Here, we discover a player in root development. Recovered from a forward‐genetic screen in Brachypodium distachyon, the buzz mutant initiates root hairs but they fail to elongate. In addition, buzz roots grow twice as fast as wild‐type roots. Also, lateral roots show increased sensitivity to nitrate, whereas primary roots are less sensitive to nitrate. Using whole‐genome resequencing, we identified the causal single nucleotide polymorphism as occurring in a conserved but previously uncharacterized cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK)‐like gene. The buzz mutant phenotypes are rescued by the wild‐type B. distachyon BUZZ coding sequence and by an apparent homolog in Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, T‐DNA mutants in A. thaliana BUZZ have shorter root hairs. BUZZ mRNA localizes to epidermal cells and develops root hairs and, in the latter, partially colocalizes with the NRT1.1A nitrate transporter. Based on qPCR and RNA‐Seq, buzz overexpresses ROOT HAIRLESS LIKE SIX‐1 and ‐2 and misregulates genes related to hormone signaling, RNA processing, cytoskeletal, and cell wall organization, and to the assimilation of nitrate. Overall, these data demonstrate that BUZZ is required for tip growth after root hair initiation and root architectural responses to nitrate.