Transcription factor control of asymmetric cell divisions that establish the stomatal lineage
- 20 December 2006
- journal article
- letter
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature
- Vol. 445 (7127), 537-540
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05491
Abstract
The establishment of new cell lineages during development often requires a symmetry-breaking event. An asymmetric division in the epidermis of plants initiates a lineage that ultimately produces stomatal guard cells. Stomata are pores in the epidermis that serve as the main conduits for gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere; they are critical for photosynthesis and exert a major influence on global carbon and water cycles1. Recent studies implicated intercellular signalling in preventing the inappropriate production of stomatal complexes2,3,4. Genes required to make stomata, however, remained elusive. Here we report the identification of a gene, SPEECHLESS (SPCH), encoding a basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factor that is necessary and sufficient for the asymmetric divisions that establish the stomatal lineage in Arabidopsis thaliana. We demonstrate that SPCH and two paralogues are successively required for the initiation, proliferation and terminal differentiation of cells in the stomatal lineage. The stomatal bHLHs define a molecular pathway sufficient to create one of the key cell types in plants. Similar molecules and regulatory mechanisms are used during muscle and neural development5,6, highlighting a conserved use of closely related bHLHs for cell fate specification and differentiation.Keywords
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