Receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase MARIS functions downstream of Cr RLK1L-dependent signaling during tip growth

Significance Plant cells constantly survey their environment to fine-tune their internal processes. Plant receptor-like kinases (RLKs) of the Catharanthus roseus RLK1-like ( Cr RLK1L) subfamily have been implicated in many signaling processes, including the coordination of the intracellular growth machinery with the performance of the extracellular matrix, i.e. the cell wall (CW). To avoid loss of integrity and growth and to adapt their CWs to developmental and environmental perturbations, growing plant cells have developed complex sensing mechanisms. The Cr RLK1Ls ANXUR1 and ANXUR2 and their closest homolog FERONIA control CW integrity in the tip-growing pollen tubes and root hairs, respectively. Here, we identify and characterize the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase MARIS as a novel downstream component of the Cr RLK1L-dependent signaling cascade that controls CW integrity in tip-growing cells.