title: Tissue and Organ Initiation in the Plant Embryo: A First Time for Everything.
abstract: Land plants can grow to tremendous body sizes, yet even the most complex architectures are the result of iterations of the same developmental processes: organ initiation, growth, and pattern formation. A central question in plant biology is how these processes are regulated and coordinated to allow for the formation of ordered, 3D structures. All these elementary processes first occur in early embryogenesis, during which, from a fertilized egg cell, precursors for all major tissues and stem cells are initiated, followed by tissue growth and patterning. Here we discuss recent progress in our understanding of this phase of plant life. We consider the cellular basis for multicellular development in 3D and focus on the genetic regulatory mechanisms that direct specific steps during early embryogenesis.
authors: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, 6703 HA Wageningen, The Netherlands; email: dolf.weijers@wur.nl.
authors: Joakim
authors: J
authors: Palovaara
authors: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, 6703 HA Wageningen, The Netherlands; email: dolf.weijers@wur.nl.
authors: Thijs
authors: T
authors: de Zeeuw
authors: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, 6703 HA Wageningen, The Netherlands; email: dolf.weijers@wur.nl.
authors: Dolf
authors: D
authors: Weijers
mesh_terms: D019521:Body Patterning; D009024:Morphogenesis; D012639:Seeds / Q000196:embryology*; D055153:Stem Cell Niche
keywords: apical-basal axis; asymmetric cell division; cell specification; meristems; plant embryogenesis; radial patterning; stem cells