title: Regulation of Meristem Morphogenesis by Cell Wall Synthases in Arabidopsis.
abstract: The cell walls of the shoot apical meristem (SAM), containing the stem cell niche that gives rise to the above-ground tissues, are crucially involved in regulating differentiation. It is currently unknown how these walls are built and refined or their role, if any, in influencing meristem developmental dynamics. We have combined polysaccharide linkage analysis, immuno-labeling, and transcriptome profiling of the SAM to provide a spatiotemporal plan of the walls of this dynamic structure. We find that meristematic cells express only a core subset of 152 genes encoding cell wall glycosyltransferases (GTs). Systemic localization of all these GT mRNAs by in situ hybridization reveals members with either enrichment in or specificity to apical subdomains such as emerging flower primordia, and a large class with high expression in dividing cells. The highly localized and coordinated expression of GTs in the SAM suggests distinct wall properties of meristematic cells and specific differences between newly forming walls and their mature descendants. Functional analysis demonstrates that a subset of CSLD genes is essential for proper meristem maintenance, confirming the key role of walls in developmental pathways.
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK.
authors.forename: Weibing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Cherie T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Beahan
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK; Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; Integrative Computational BioScience Center, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand.
authors.forename: Varodom
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Charoensawan
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK; Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, UMR 1318, Institut National pour la Recherche Agronomique-AgroParisTech, Saclay Plant Science, Route de St-Cyr, Versailles 78026, France.
authors.forename: Alexis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peaucelle
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Antony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bacic
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. Electronic address: msdoblin@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Monika S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Doblin
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK. Electronic address: raymond.wightman@slcu.cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wightman
authors.affiliation: Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Bateman Street, Cambridge CB2 1LR, UK; Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. Electronic address: meyerow@caltech.edu.
authors.forename: Elliot M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Meyerowitz
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018519:Meristem / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016695:Glycosyltransferases