Keiko Sakakibara (Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo)

2014. 05. 26 (Mon) 13:30 ~ 14:20

Seminar Rm. 1 (132), Myodaiji

Yosuke Tamada (Division of Evolutionary Biology, ext. 7545)

Many differentiated plant cells can be reprogrammed into stem cells reflecting the remarkable developmental plasticity of plants. In the moss Physcomitrella patens, cells at the wound margin of detached leaves become reprogrammed into stem cells. Here, we report that two paralogous P. patens WUSCHEL-related homeobox 13-like (PpWOX13L) genes, homologs of stem cell regulators in flowering plants, are transiently upregulated and required for the initiation of cell growth during stem cell formation. Concordantly, ∆ppwox13l deletion mutants fail to upregulate genes encoding homologs of cell wall loosening factors during this process. During the moss life cycle, most of the ∆ppwox13l mutant zygotes fail to expand and initiate an apical stem cell to form the embryo. Our data show that PpWOX13L genes are required for the initiation of cell growth specifically during stem cell formation, in analogy to WOX stem cell functions in seed plants, but using a different cellular mechanism.

Sakakibara K, Reisewitz P, Aoyama T, Friedrich T, Ando S, Sato Y, Tamada Y, Nishiyama T, Hiwatashi Y, Kurata T, Ishikawa M, Deguchi H, Rensing SA, Werr W, Murata T, Hasebe M, Laux T (2014) WOX13-like genes are required for reprogramming of leaf and protoplast cells into stem cells in the moss Physcomitrella patens. Development 141: 1660-70.

*Seminar will be given in English.