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Updated: May 15, 2026
06:46
Confocal Live Imaging of Shoot Apical Meristems from Different Plant Species
Published on: March 29, 2019
Gene expression analysis of shoot apical meristem cell types
Ram Kishor Yadav1, Stephen Snipes, Thomas Girke
1Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB), Institute of Integrative Genome Biology (IIGB), University of California, Riverside, CA, USA.
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|January 10, 2013
Summary
This study details methods for analyzing gene networks in plant shoot apical meristems (SAMs). Understanding these networks is crucial for plant development and cellular differentiation.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Shoot apical meristems (SAMs) are crucial plant structures containing stem cells that generate above-ground biomass.
- SAMs regulate key developmental processes including stem cell maintenance, organogenesis, and the transition to flowering.
- While molecular and hormonal pathways are known, their network interactions in cell fate specification remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present experimental methods for dissecting gene networks within SAMs.
- To enable a single cell-type resolution for gene expression profiling.
- To identify and infer gene networks underlying cell fate transitions in plants.
Main Methods:
- Protoplasting of shoot apical meristem cells.
- Generation of cell type-specific gene expression profiles.
- Development of analysis platforms for gene network identification and inference.
Main Results:
- Detailed protocols for SAM cell protoplasting and gene expression analysis are provided.
- Methods allow for genome-scale expression pattern assessment at single cell-type resolution.
- The study lays the groundwork for inferring complex gene networks in SAMs.
Conclusions:
- The presented methods facilitate a deeper understanding of gene regulatory networks in plant development.
- This approach is vital for deciphering how different pathways interact to control cell fate.
- The findings will advance research on stem cell maintenance, organ differentiation, and flowering time control.
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