4 minutes of readingPuneFebruary 2, 2026 22:15 IST
A latest study led by a group of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, has revealed the role that autophagy, a cell cleaning process, plays in injury recovery in plants. Led by PhD student Akansha Gangulya from Professor Kalika Prasad’s group, the study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on January 30.
The researchers discovered that autophagy at the site of injury reduces stress levels at the site of injury, thereby allowing the formation of stem cells. These stem cells activate root regeneration from the cut ends of the leaves. The study showed that a specific subset of autophagy genes, called the ATG8F and ATG8H isoforms, are involved in root regeneration.
What were the results?
talking to He indian expressProfessor Prasad explained the problem statement of the study: “If you cut the plants, we see that over time everything grows even better. People have been using vegetative propagation for decades, where they cut a part of a plant, put it in the soil and out comes a completely new plant and root. Because plants are phenomenal. The question is what is the molecular basis of all this regeneration?”
Referring to the results of the experiment, he said that after an injury tension immediately builds up at the site of the injury. This level of stress is reflected in terms of stress signaling molecules or reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are free radicals. Cells cannot survive if these radicals are not eliminated. The fundamental question that this particular study addressed was how plant cells try to control this stress from a very high level.
“The team discovered that the moment a wound is caused, after a few hours, autophagy, which is also present in humans, is also activated,” he said. Autophagy, found in almost all living organisms, is a biological process that removes damaged cell parts and organelles caused by stress, preventing them from accumulating and damaging the cell. Professor Prasad added that if there is no autophagy, debris continues to accumulate and stress cannot be reduced.
As soon as stress is reduced, stem cell regulators appear, according to the study. The stem cells then heal and activate all regeneration of the region. Additional experiments demonstrated that PLT7, a member of the PLETHORA (PLT) gene family, regulates ATG8F, and PLT3 regulates the expression of ATG8H in plant cells. These results suggest that autophagy during regeneration is regulated by plant-specific PLETHORA proteins. The study was conducted using methods such as cell biology imaging and genetic mutation.
Professor Prasada added: “It is interesting to see that in both plants and animals, ROS act as early wound signals that activate autophagy to restore balance and promote tissue growth. However, plants add their own unique touch: they use specific plant proteins called PLETHORA to precisely guide this autophagy-ROS system for successful regeneration. Through the present study, we discovered a previously unrecognized PLETHORA-autophagy-ROS regulatory module that allows plants regenerate,” said the professor. Prasad highlighted the new insights into plant regeneration gained through this study.
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University students Aabha Humnabadkar and Komal Gautam also contributed to the study along with collaborators from the Netherlands, China and Germany, who provided new research reagents.
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