Continuous formation of somatic tissues in plants requires functional stem cell niches where undifferentiated cells are maintained. In Arabidopsis thaliana, PLETHORA (PLT) and SCARECROW (SCR) genes are outputs of apical-basal and radial patterning systems, and both are required for root stem cell specification and maintenance. The WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 5 (WOX5) gene is specifically expressed in and required for functions of a small group of root stem cell organizer cells, also called the quiescent center (QC). PLT and SCR are required for QC function, and their expression overlaps in the QC; however, how they specify the organizer has remained unknown. We show that PLT and SCR genetically and physically interact with plant-specific teosinte-branched cycloidea PCNA (TCP) transcription factors to specify the stem cell niche during embryogenesis and maintain organizer cells post-embryonically. PLT-TCP-SCR complexes converge on PLT-binding sites in the WOX5 promoter to induce expression.
Keywords: Arabidopsis; PLT-TCP-SCR complexes; WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 5; organizer; quiescent center; stem cell niche.
© 2018 Shimotohno et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.