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Coordination of meristem and boundary functions by transcription factors in the SHOOT MERISTEMLESS regulatory network

Scofield, Simon; Murison, Alexander; Jones, Angharad; Fozard, John; Aida, Mitsuhiro; Band, Leah R.; Bennett, Malcolm; Murray, James A.H.

Authors

Simon Scofield

Alexander Murison

Angharad Jones

John Fozard

Mitsuhiro Aida

LEAH BAND leah.band@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Mathematical Biology

James A.H. Murray



Abstract

© 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd. The Arabidopsis homeodomain transcription factor SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) is crucial for shoot apical meristem (SAM) function, yet the components and structure of the STM gene regulatory network (GRN) are largely unknown. Here, we show that transcriptional regulators are overrepresented among STM-regulated genes and, using these as GRN components in Bayesian network analysis, we infer STM GRN associations and reveal regulatory relationships between STM and factors involved in multiple aspects of SAM function. These include hormone regulation, TCP-mediated control of cell differentiation, AIL/PLT-mediated regulation of pluripotency and phyllotaxis, and specification of meristem-organ boundary zones via CUC1. We demonstrate a direct positive transcriptional feedback loop between STM and CUC1, despite their distinct expression patterns in the meristem and organ boundary, respectively. Our further finding that STM activates expression of the CUC1-targeting microRNA miR164c combined with mathematical modelling provides a potential solution for this apparent contradiction, demonstrating that these proposed regulatory interactions coupled with STM mobility could be sufficient to provide a mechanism for CUC1 localisation at the meristem-organ boundary. Our findings highlight the central role for the STM GRN in coordinating SAM functions.

Citation

Scofield, S., Murison, A., Jones, A., Fozard, J., Aida, M., Band, L. R., …Murray, J. A. (2018). Coordination of meristem and boundary functions by transcription factors in the SHOOT MERISTEMLESS regulatory network. Development, 145(9), Article dev157081. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.157081

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 21, 2018
Online Publication Date Apr 12, 2018
Publication Date May 1, 2018
Deposit Date May 30, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Development (Cambridge)
Print ISSN 0950-1991
Electronic ISSN 1477-9129
Publisher Company of Biologists
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 145
Issue 9
Article Number dev157081
DOI https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.157081
Keywords SHOOT MERISTEMLESS, Gene regulatory network, Arabidopsis, Homeodomain, Meristem, KNOX, Transcriptional regulation
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/930113
Publisher URL http://dev.biologists.org/content/145/9/dev157081

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