Signalling between the shoot apical meristem and developing lateral organs

Abstract

A characteristic feature of plant development is the extensive role played by cell-cell signalling in regulating patterns of growth and cell fate. This is particularly apparent in the shoot apical meristem (SAM) where signalling is involved in the maintenance of a central undifferentiated stem cell population and the formation of a regular and predictable pattern of leaves, from the meristem periphery. Although these two functions occur in different regions of the meristem, their activity must be coordinated to maintain meristem integrity. The role of signalling in the SAM was first characterised over 60 years ago by elegant surgical experiments. These studies showed that existing leaf primo..