First published online January 16, 2004
Development 131, 304e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Novel dynamics in early plant development
On p. 657, Haecker
and co-workers describe a new family of plant WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX)
genes that have conspicuous expression dynamics before fertilisation and
throughout early development. WOX2 and WOX8 mRNAs co-exist
in the egg cell and zygote before becoming restricted to the apical and basal
daughter cells, respectively, by asymmetric cell division. WOX5 is localised
to the root quiescent centre precursors and WOX1 to the cotyledon primordia,
while the expression dynamics of WOX9 seem to reflect the initiation of the
central domain of the embryo. These very specific expression patterns mean
that WOX genes will serve as useful markers of early embryonic cell identity.
Furthermore, WOX2 is required for the proper development of the apical domain,
and although possible functional redundancy currently masks the functions of
other WOX genes, their expression patterns may reflect important roles during
early embryogenesis.
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Related articles in Development:
- Expression dynamics of WOX genes mark cell fate decisions during early embryonic patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana
- Achim Haecker, Rita Groß-Hardt, Bernd Geiges, Ananda Sarkar, Holger Breuninger, Marita Herrmann, and Thomas Laux
Development 2004 131: 657-668.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
