When bigger is better: the role of polyploidy in organogenesis.
Defining how organ size is regulated, a process controlled not only by the number of cells but also by the size of the cells, is a frontier in developmental biology. Large cells are produced by increasing DNA content or ploidy, a developmental strategy employed throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. The widespread use of polyploidy during cell differentiation makes it important to define how this hypertrophy contributes to organogenesis. I discuss here examples from a variety of animals and plants in which polyploidy controls organ size, the size and function of specific tissues within an organ, or the differentiated properties of cells. In addition, I highlight how polyploidy functions in wound healing and tissue regeneration.
Whitehead Institute and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Electronic address: weaver@wi.mit.edu.
Terry L
TL
Orr-Weaver
D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D048429:Cell Size; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009929:Organ Size / Q000235:genetics; D038081:Organogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D059828:Plant Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D011123:Polyploidy; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000235:genetics
cell cycle; development; endocycle; endomitosis; endoreduplication