title: The origin of the plant body axis.
abstract: During embryogenesis, the basic body plan of an organism develops from a unicellular zygote. In most flowering plants, the polar zygote divides asymmetrically, making visible the apical-basal axis in the early embryo. The molecular mechanisms governing how the zygote polarizes and how this polarity is linked to embryo axis formation have been obscure, mainly owing to the difficulties to access the zygote that is deeply embedded in the maternal tissue. In this review, we summarize recent findings identifying key regulators in Arabidopsis and developing novel approaches in various plant species, which altogether set the stage for unraveling embryo axis formation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Growth Regulation, Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Takayamacho 8916-5, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan. m-ueda@bs.naist.jp
authors.forename: Minako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Laux
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D060049:Asymmetric Cell Division; D049108:Cell Enlargement; D016764:Cell Polarity; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D059828:Plant Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C525390:WOX8 protein, Arabidopsis; D020930:MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases; C481302:YODA protein, Arabidopsis