title: Transcriptional control of a plant stem cell niche.
abstract: Despite the independent evolution of multicellularity in plants and animals, the basic organization of their stem cell niches is remarkably similar. Here, we report the genome-wide regulatory potential of WUSCHEL, the key transcription factor for stem cell maintenance in the shoot apical meristem of the reference plant Arabidopsis thaliana. WUSCHEL acts by directly binding to at least two distinct DNA motifs in more than 100 target promoters and preferentially affects the expression of genes with roles in hormone signaling, metabolism, and development. Striking examples are the direct transcriptional repression of CLAVATA1, which is part of a negative feedback regulation of WUSCHEL, and the immediate regulation of transcriptional repressors of the TOPLESS family, which are involved in auxin signaling. Our results shed light on the complex transcriptional programs required for the maintenance of a dynamic and essential stem cell niche.
authors.affiliation: AG Lohmann, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.forename: Andrej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miotk
authors.forename: Federico D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Ariel
authors.forename: Zhong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Forner
authors.forename: Gabor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Daum
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzaki
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Sebastian J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Schultheiss
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leibfried
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haubeiss
authors.forename: Nati
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: Raquel L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Jan U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Lohmann
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018745:Genome, Plant; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D018519:Meristem / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000502:physiology; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D014157:Transcription Factors; C507238:ARR7 protein, Arabidopsis; C118167:AT2G27250 protein, Arabidopsis; C116421:WUSCHEL protein, Arabidopsis; C511291:At1g15750 protein, Arabidopsis; C118166:CLV1 protein, Arabidopsis