Mosaic analyses using marked activation and deletion clones dissect Arabidopsis SCARECROW action in asymmetric cell division.
In the Arabidopsis root meristem, ground tissue stem cell daughters perform an asymmetric division to form endodermis and cortex. The putative transcription factors SCARECROW (SCR) and SHORTROOT (SHR) regulate this radial patterning event, and the mixed cell fate in scr mutants suggests an atypical role of the SCR gene in asymmetric cell division. Here we use a newly developed site-specific gene activation/deletion system in which induced clones are positively marked with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Using this system, we show that SCR acts cell-autonomously to control asymmetric cell division within the ground tissue. We provide evidence that SCR gene expression is under autoregulatory control, that SCR limits SHR movement, and that transient SCR action is sufficient to separate endodermis and cortex fates by asymmetric cell division.
Heidstra
Renze
R
Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH, The Netherlands. r.heidstra@bio.uu.nl
Welch
David
D
Scheres
Ben
B
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002455:Cell Division; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009030:Mosaicism; D017384:Sequence Deletion
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; C100978:SCR protein, Arabidopsis; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins