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Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Live Confocal Imaging of Developing Arabidopsis Flowers
Published on: April 1, 2017
Cell division and morphological changes in the shoot apex of Arabidopsis thaliana during floral transition
Annie Jacqmard1, Isabelle Gadisseur, Georges Bernier
1Laboratoire de Physiologie végétale, Département des Sciences de la Vie, Université de Liège, B22 Sart Tilman, B4000 Liège, Belgium. anie.jacqmard@ulg.ac.be
Abstract:
Eight-week-old vegetative plants of Arabidopsis thaliana, ecotype Columbia, were induced to flower by a single long day (LD). In this experimental system, it is known that the last component of the floral stimulus moves from the leaves to the apex 24-36 h after the start of the LD, and the first floral meristem is initiated by the shoot apical meristem (SAM) at 44-56 h (Corbesier et al., 1996, The Plant Journal 9: 947-952). Here we show that the rate of cell division is increased at floral transition in all SAM parts but not in the sub-apical pith cells. Mitotic activity starts to increase 24 h after the start of the LD and is two- to three-fold higher at peak times than that in non-induced plants. This activation is followed by the start of SAM enlargement at 44 h, SAM doming at 48 h, and the elongation of apical internodes (bolting) at 52 h.
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