649 / 2019-04-29 17:39:56

Understanding the complexity of cell proliferation during organ growth

cell cycle,,endocycle,meristem,chromatin,root development

Growth and Development > Growth and Development

Organ development depends on a finely regulated cellular homeostasis that involves cell production and cell differentiation. Stem cells produce derivatives that constitute the transient amplifying compartment where cell exit and cell production are in equilibrium to maintain the organ steady-state size.
The root consists of well-defined anatomical and functional zones: the meristem, where cell actively proliferate, the transition zone, where cells undergo endoreplication, and the differentiation zone. These developmental zones are the result of a complex interaction of transcription factors, developmental signals and hormonal cues.
Understanding this complexity is being greatly favored by the use of novel approaches and tools. Cells in the meristematic compartment show a complex distribution which does not conform with a simple exponential kinetics. Using histone H3 protein dynamics we found differences along the longitudinal axis of the meristem for the early and late divisions of the stem cell derivatives. The use of various strategies to determine cell cycle progression revealed differences in cell cycle kinetics on both the longitudinal and the radial axis. The cell type-specific features regarding cell proliferation potential may be affected by environmental conditions. Together our results reveals unforeseen complexities in cell proliferation control during root development, which we try to understand with an integrative approach.