Extracellular matrix and pattern in plant embryos: on the lookout for developmental information.
Cells of early plant embryos are totipotent yet follow different predetermined developmental pathways, producing embryos with well-defined autonomously developing tissues. Evidence is accumulating from a few model systems that information maintaining the determined state of a particular cell type is contained in a position-dependent manner in the extracellular matrix. This information can be released to signal back to the cell, thus controlling patterns of gene expression and influencing cell fate.
D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000502:physiology; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000235:genetics; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D010944:Plants / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology