GSE97063
Pathway level gating of auxin signalling provides robustness to apical stem cell fate in Arabidopsis [RNA-Seq]
During development and growth, dynamic signals need to be translated into spatially precise and temporally stable gene expression states, which define cell fate. In the context of the apical plant stem cell system, local accumulation of the small, highly mobile phytohormone auxin triggers organ initiation. At the same time, stem cells are continuously maintained despite abundant auxin signalling input. We demonstrate that spatial specificity in the auxin response is achieved by direct, pathway-wide transcriptional gating by the WUSCHEL transcription factor in stem cells. Our results reveal the mechanisms of a complex regulatory system that confers robustness against fluctuations of a mobile and highly potent developmental signal and thus prevents termination of an essential stem cell pool. Overall design: pUBI10::mCherry-GR-linker-WUS (WUS-GR); seedling; 2hours; ChIP-Seq profile of WUS-GR binding (duplicate), and RNA-Seq profile after WUS-GR induction (triplicate)