Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2018, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (1): 126-138.DOI: 10.11983/CBB17130

• SPECIAL TOPICS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Auxin and the Maintenance of Root Stem Cell Niches in Plants

Qianqian Zhang1,2, Tong Zheng1, Qian Yu1, Lei Ge1,*()   

  1. 1State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, China
    2Shandong Academy of Grape, Jinan 250100, China
  • Received:2017-07-12 Accepted:2017-10-31 Online:2018-01-01 Published:2018-08-10
  • Contact: Lei Ge

Abstract: The coordination between the maintenance of stem-cell niches and differentiation of their progeny sets the developmental basis of higher multiple-cellular organisms to ensure coherent organ growth. The plant hormone auxin plays important roles in the morphological establishment of shoot and root apical meristem mediated by the maintenance of shoot and root stem-cell niches. Here we review multiple signaling modules discovered in recent years, including the PLETHORA pathway, SCARECROW-SHORT ROOT pathway and environmental factors, for their mechanisms in maintaining root stem cell niches. Auxin participates in these mechanisms by regulating local synthesis, polar transport and signal transduction. By these means, auxin concentration gradient can be maintained accurately in stem-cell niches around the root apical quiescent center, for balancing the proliferation and differentiation of stem-cell niches.

Key words: root apical meristem, stem cell niche, auxin, proliferation and differentiation