Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Confocal Live Imaging of Shoot Apical Meristems from Different Plant Species
Published on: March 29, 2019
Interdomain signaling in stem cell maintenance of plant shoot meristems
Andrea Bleckmann1, Rüdiger Simon
1Institute of Genetics, Heinrich-Heine University, Universitätsstr. 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
The plant shoot meristem maintains a group of stem cells that remain active throughout the plant life. They continuously generate new cells that are then recruited for organ initiation in the peripheral zone. Stem cell proliferation and daughter cell differentiation has to be integrated with overall growth and development of the diverse functional domains within the shoot apex. Several studies have revealed extensive communication between these domains. The signaling mechanisms employed comprise diffusible peptides, directional transport of plant hormones, but also complex interactions between transcription factors, that together establish a panoply of regulatory inputs that fine-tune stem cell behavior in the shoot meristem.
Related Concept Videos
Primary and Secondary Growth in Roots and Shoots
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
Cell Signaling in Plants
Meristems and Plant Growth
Stem Cell Niche
Maintenance of the ES Cell State

