title: The PLETHORA Gene Regulatory Network Guides Growth and Cell Differentiation in Arabidopsis Roots.
abstract: Organ formation in animals and plants relies on precise control of cell state transitions to turn stem cell daughters into fully differentiated cells. In plants, cells cannot rearrange due to shared cell walls. Thus, differentiation progression and the accompanying cell expansion must be tightly coordinated across tissues. PLETHORA (PLT) transcription factor gradients are unique in their ability to guide the progression of cell differentiation at different positions in the growing Arabidopsis thaliana root, which contrasts with well-described transcription factor gradients in animals specifying distinct cell fates within an essentially static context. To understand the output of the PLT gradient, we studied the gene set transcriptionally controlled by PLTs. Our work reveals how the PLT gradient can regulate cell state by region-specific induction of cell proliferation genes and repression of differentiation. Moreover, PLT targets include major patterning genes and autoregulatory feedback components, enforcing their role as master regulators of organ development.
authors.affiliation: Plant Developmental Biology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.|Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8784-2507
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Santuari
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.|Applied Bioinformatics, Bioscience, Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.|Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gabino F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Perez
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marijn
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4476-0987
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luijten
authors.affiliation: Plant Developmental Biology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.|Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rutjens
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Inez
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3085-2533
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Terpstra
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.|Biosystematics Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lidija
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3842-9462
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berke
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maartje
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gorte
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Kalika
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prasad
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dongping
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johanna L P M
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Timmermans-Hereijgers
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenzo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Akie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shimotohno
authors.affiliation: Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå SE-901 83, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ales
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pencik
authors.affiliation: Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå SE-901 83, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ondrej
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3452-0154
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.affiliation: Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå SE-901 83, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2901-189X
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ljung
authors.affiliation: Hubrecht Institute-KNAW and University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584 CT, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sebastiaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Heesch
authors.affiliation: Hubrecht Institute-KNAW and University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584 CT, The Netherlands.|Hartwig Medical Foundation, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ewart
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Bruijn
authors.affiliation: Hubrecht Institute-KNAW and University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584 CT, The Netherlands.|Department of Medical Genetics, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584 CX, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cuppen
authors.affiliation: Plant Developmental Biology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.|Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Willemsen
authors.affiliation: Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.|Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland.
authors.forename: Ari Pekka
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6051-866X
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Mähönen
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-7271.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5864-7240
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lukowitz
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Berend
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5804-8547
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Snel
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dick
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4944-4310
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de Ridder
authors.affiliation: Plant Developmental Biology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands ben.scheres@wur.nl renze.heidstra@wur.nl.|Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5400-9578
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scheres
authors.affiliation: Plant Developmental Biology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen 6708PB, The Netherlands ben.scheres@wur.nl renze.heidstra@wur.nl.|Molecular Genetics, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CH, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Renze
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9032-5770
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heidstra
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors