Cell fate in the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana

Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Furner I ◽  
J. E. Pumfrey

Seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana, heterozygous for the alb1 mutation were treated with X-rays to generate sectors of albino tissue in the mature plants. Sectors were observed in tissues derived from L2 and L3 layers of the shoot meristem. Altogether 324 sectors were obtained affecting 512 leaves or the inflorescence. The majority of sectors affected only one or other of the first leaf pair. In later leaves, sectors were less frequent, and often affected more than one leaf. Sectors seen in the flowers almost invariably included some of the cauline leaves. Sectors in any region of the plant were of variable length and width. The axillary meristems of Arabidopsis were found to be clonally related to two or more cells near the centre of the subtending leaf. Overall the data are compatible with the idea that there are few, if any, restrictions on cell fate within the cell layers of the dry seed meristem. As in other higher plants, developmental fate could only be predicted in a general and probabilistic way. Such a pattern might be generated if the acquisition of cell fate occurred continuously as the plant grows, in a position-dependent, lineage-independent fashion. A general model of the meristem has been produced to accommodate the observations concerning the great majority of the sectors.

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 146 (1) ◽  
pp. 401-407
Author(s):  
Jean E Masson ◽  
Patrick J King ◽  
Jerzy Paszkowski

A simple screening method was developed for the isolation of Arabidopsis thaliana mutants hypersensitive to X-ray irradiation. The root meristem was used as the target for irradiation with sublethal doses of X rays, while protection of the shoot meristem by a lead cover allowed the rescue of hypersensitive individuals. We isolated nine independent X-ray-hypersensitive mutants from 7000 M2 seedlings. Analysis of three chosen mutants (xrs4, xrs9 and xrs11) showed that alterations in single recessive alleles are responsible for their phenotypes. The mutations are not allelic but linked and map to chromosome 4, suggesting mutations in novel genes as compared to previously mapped mutant alleles. Importantly, hypersensitivity to X rays was found to correlate with hypersensitivity to the DNA-alkylating agent mitomycin C, which provokes interstrand crosslinks, and/or to methyl methanesulfonate, which is known as a radiomimetic chemical. These novel phenotypes suggest that the mutants described here are altered in the repair of DNA damage, most probably by recombinational repair.


Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 2723-2735 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.B. Talbert ◽  
H.T. Adler ◽  
D.W. Parks ◽  
L. Comai

The form of seed plants is determined by the growth of a number of meristems including apical meristems, leaf meristems and cambium layers. We investigated five recessive mutant alleles of a gene REVOLUTA that is required to promote the growth of apical meristems and to limit cell division in leaves and stems of Arabidopsis thaliana. REVOLUTA maps to the bottom of the fifth chromosome. Apical meristems of both paraclades (axillary shoots) and flowers of revoluta mutants frequently fail to complete normal development and form incomplete or abortive structures. The primary shoot apical meristem sometimes also arrests development early. Leaves, stems and floral organs, in contrast, grow abnormally large. We show that in the leaf epidermis this extra growth is due to extra cell divisions in the leaf basal meristem. The extent of leaf growth is negatively correlated with the development of a paraclade in the leaf axil. The thickened stems contain extra cell layers, arranged in rings, indicating that they may result from a cambium-like meristem. These results suggest that the REVOLUTA gene has a role in regulating the relative growth of apical and non-apical meristems in Arabidopsis.


Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 823-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. Barton ◽  
R. S. Poethig

The primary shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis is initiated late in embryogenesis, after the initiation of the cotyledons. We have identified a gene, called SHOOT MERISTEMLESS, which is critical for this process. shoot meristemless mutant seedlings lack a shoot apical meristem but are otherwise healthy and viable. The anatomy of mutant embryos demonstrates that the shoot meristemless-1 mutation completely blocks the initiation of the shoot apical meristem, but has no other obvious effects on embryo development. The failure of shoot meristemless tissue to regenerate shoots in tissue culture suggests that this gene regulates adventitious shoot meristem formation, as well as embryonic shoot meristem formation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43
Author(s):  
I.O. Konovalova ◽  
T.N. Kudelina ◽  
S.O. Smolyanina ◽  
A.I. Lilienberg ◽  
T.N. Bibikova

A new technique for Arabidopsis thaliana cultivation has been proposed that combines the use of a phytogel-based nutrient medium and a hydrophilic membrane of hydrate cellulose film, separating the root system of the plant from the medium thickness. Growth rates of both main and lateral roots were faster in the plants cultivated on the surface of hydrate cellulose film than in the plants grown in the phytogel volume. The location of the root system on the surface of the transparent hydrate film simplifies its observation and analysis and facilitates plant transplantation with preservation of the root system configuration. The proposed technique allowed us to first assess the effect of exogenous auxin on the growth of lateral roots at the 5-6 developmental stage. methods to study plant root systems, hydrate cellulose film, A. thaliana, lateral roots, differential root growth rate, auxin The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project Bel_mol_a 19-54-04015) and the basic topic of the Russian Academy of Sciences - IBMP RAS «Regularities of the Influence of Extreme Environmental Factors on the Processes of Cultivation of Higher Plants and the Development of Japanese Quail Tissues at Different Stages of its Ontogenesis under the Conditions of Regenerative Life Support Systems».


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5739
Author(s):  
Joo Yeol Kim ◽  
Hyo-Jun Lee ◽  
Jin A Kim ◽  
Mi-Jeong Jeong

Sound waves affect plants at the biochemical, physical, and genetic levels. However, the mechanisms by which plants respond to sound waves are largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of sound waves on Arabidopsis thaliana growth. The results of the study showed that Arabidopsis seeds exposed to sound waves (100 and 100 + 9k Hz) for 15 h per day for 3 day had significantly longer root growth than that in the control group. The root length and cell number in the root apical meristem were significantly affected by sound waves. Furthermore, genes involved in cell division were upregulated in seedlings exposed to sound waves. Root development was affected by the concentration and activity of some phytohormones, including cytokinin and auxin. Analysis of the expression levels of genes regulating cytokinin and auxin biosynthesis and signaling showed that cytokinin and ethylene signaling genes were downregulated, while auxin signaling and biosynthesis genes were upregulated in Arabidopsis exposed to sound waves. Additionally, the cytokinin and auxin concentrations of the roots of Arabidopsis plants increased and decreased, respectively, after exposure to sound waves. Our findings suggest that sound waves are potential agricultural tools for improving crop growth performance.


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