It is known that plants widely display extraordinary regeneration competence for survival from severe natural conditions, and the regenerative abilities have been widely exploited in agricultural production for mass propagation. However, how environmental conditions influence regeneration is largely unknown. Light, as one of the most critical environmental signals for diverse plant developmental processes, has been shown to affect plant regeneration. In our research, we aimed at elucidating the mechanisms underlying the influence of light on plant regeneration.
We investigated the impact of several photoreceptors during shoot regeneration in Arabidopsis thaliana. These included four blue light receptors: two cryptochromes (CRY1 and CRY2) and two phototropins (PHOT1 and PHOT2), along with two red light receptors phytochromes (PHYA and PHYB). Interestingly, only the cry1 knockout mutant showed suppressed shoot regeneration and enhanced root regeneration. This suggested a critical role of the CRY1-mediated blue light signaling pathway in regulating plant regeneration. Moreover, we analyzed transcriptome changes during shoot regeneration in wild type and cry1. In future, we will identify downstream target genes of CRY1 during plant regeneration.