title: The rate of cell differentiation controls the Arabidopsis root meristem growth phase.
abstract: Upon seed germination, apical meristems grow as cell division prevails over differentiation and reach their final size when division and differentiation reach a balance. In the Arabidopsis root meristem, this balance results from the interaction between cytokinin (promoting differentiation) and auxin (promoting division) through a regulatory circuit whereby the ARR1 cytokinin-responsive transcription factor activates the gene SHY2, which negatively regulates the PIN genes encoding auxin transport facilitators. However, it remains unknown how the final meristem size is set, i.e., how a change in the relative rates of cell division and differentiation is brought about to cause meristem growth to stop. Here, we show that during meristem growth, expression of SHY2 is driven by another cytokinin-response factor, ARR12, and that completion of growth is brought about by the upregulation of SHY2 caused by both ARR12 and ARR1: this leads to an increase in cell differentiation rate that balances it with division, thus setting root meristem size. We also show that gibberellins selectively repress expression of ARR1 at early stages of meristem development, and that the DELLA protein REPRESSOR OF GA 1-3 (RGA) mediates this negative control.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics of Model Systems, Dipartimento di Genetica e Biologia Molecolare, Sapienza Università di Roma, Via dei Sardi 70, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moubayidin
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perilli
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dello Ioio
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Mambro
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Costantino
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabatini
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018519:Meristem / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins