The growth of a stable stationary structure: coordinating cell behavior and patterning at the shoot apical meristem

Abstract

Plants are characterized by their ability to produce new organs post-embryonically throughout their entire life cycle. In particular development of all above-ground organs relies almost entirely on the function of the shoot apical meristem (SAM). The SAM performs a dual role by maintaining a pool of undifferentiated cells and simultaneously driving cell differentiation to initiate organogenesis. Both processes require strict coordination between individual cells which leads to formation of reproducible morphological and molecular patterns within SAM. The patterns are formed and maintained in large part due to spatio-temporal variation in signaling of plant hormones auxin and cytokinin resulting in tissue-specific transcriptional regulation. Integration of these mechanisms into computational models further identifies the key regulatory interactions involved in SAM function.