title: Gene expression analysis of shoot apical meristem cell types.
abstract: Shoot apical meristems (SAMs) of higher plants harbor a set of stem-cells and provide cells for the development of all the above-ground biomass of plants. Most of the important pattern formation events such as maintenance of stem-cell identity, specification and differentiation of leaf/flower primordia, and temporal control of the transition from vegetative to reproductive program are determined in SAMs. Genetic analysis has revealed molecular and hormonal pathways involved in stem-cell maintenance, organ differentiation, and flowering time. However, limited information is available as to how different pathways interact with each other to function as a network in specifying different cell types and their function. Deciphering gene networks that underlie cell fate transitions requires new approaches aimed at assaying genome-scale expression patterns of genes at a single cell-type resolution. Here we provide details of experimental methods involved in protoplasting of SAM cells, generating cell type-specific gene expression profiles, and analysis platforms for identifying and inferring gene networks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB), Institute of Integrative Genome Biology (IIGB), University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ram Kishor
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Snipes
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Girke
authors.forename: G Venugopala
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018519:Meristem / Q000378:metabolism*; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000166:cytology*