Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Laser-assisted Microdissection (LAM) as a Tool for Transcriptional Profiling of Individual Cell Types
Published on: May 10, 2016
Transcriptional repression distinguishes somatic from germ cell lineages in a plant
Farzad Haerizadeh1, Mohan B Singh, Prem L Bhalla
1Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Laboratory, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research, Faculty of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Abstract:
In flowering plants, the male germline begins with an asymmetric division, after which one of the resulting cells, the generative cell, divides symmetrically to produce two sperm cells. We show here that the male germline is initiated by transcriptional control. We identify GRSF, germline-restrictive silencing factor, from the lily. GRSF is ubiquitous in nongerm cells and is absent from male germ cells. GRSF recognizes silencer sequences in promoters of genes specific to the germline, stably repressing these genes in cells that are not destined to become germ cells.
Related Concept Videos
Transgenic Organisms
Asexual Reproduction
Overview of Transposition and Recombination
Transgenic Plants
The first-ever transgenic plant was a tobacco plant developed in 1983 that showed resistance against the tobacco mosaic virus. Since then, many transgenic plants have been developed and commercialized for improving the agricultural, ornamental, and horticultural value of a crop plant. Transgenic...
Animal and Plant Cell Structure
Cell Division
Though both plant and animal cells divide by mitosis (for non-gametic cells) and meiosis (for gametic cells), they differ in the specifics of this process. Unlike animal cells, plant cells lack centrosomes — an organelle responsible for organizing the spindle fibers and segregating the chromosomes during cell...
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

