Morphogenesis and patterning at the organ boundaries in the higher plant shoot apex

Formation of lateral organ primordia from the shoot apical meristem creates boundaries that separate the primordium from surrounding tissue. Morphological and gene expression studies indicate the presence of a distinct set of cells that define the boundaries in the plant shoot apex. Cells at the boundary usually display reduced growth activity that results in separation of adjacent organs or tissues and this morphological boundary coincides with the border of different cell identities. Such morphogenetic and patterning events and their spatial coordination are controlled by a number of boundary-specific regulatory genes. The boundary may also act as a reference point for the generation of new meristems such as axillary meristems. Many of the genes involved in meristem initiation are expressed in the boundary. This review summarizes the cellular characters of the shoot organ boundary and the roles of regulatory genes that control different aspects of this unique region in plant development.