title: ABA promotes quiescence of the quiescent centre and suppresses stem cell differentiation in the Arabidopsis primary root meristem.
abstract: It is well known that abscisic acid (ABA) can halt meristems for long periods without loss of meristem function, and can also promote root growth at low concentrations, but the mechanisms underlying such regulation are largely unknown. Here we show that ABA promotes stem cell maintenance in Arabidopsis root meristems by both promoting the quiescence of the quiescent centre (QC) and suppressing the differentiation of stem cells and their daughters. We demonstrate that these two mechanisms of regulation by ABA involve distinct pathways, and identify components in each pathway. Our findings demonstrate a cellular mechanism for a positive role for ABA in promoting root meristem maintenance and root growth in Arabidopsis.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Plant Sciences, Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. bgyhz@leeds.ac.uk
authors.forename: Hanma
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Woong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Ive
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Smet
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Talboys
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Loya
authors.forename: Amaar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Honglin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rong
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jürgens
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Paul Knox
authors.forename: Myeong-Hyeon
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018519:Meristem / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development*; D011728:Pyridones / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D011728:Pyridones; C013351:fluridone; D000040:Abscisic Acid