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Updated: Apr 10, 2026

Long-term, High-resolution Confocal Time Lapse Imaging of Arabidopsis Cotyledon Epidermis during Germination
Published on: December 31, 2012
CLE19 expressed in the embryo regulates both cotyledon establishment and endosperm development in Arabidopsis
Ting-Ting Xu1, Shi-Chao Ren1, Xiu-Fen Song2
1Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanxincun 20, Fragrant Hill, Beijing 100093, China University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
Embryo and endosperm development are two well co-ordinated developmental processes in seed formation; however, signals involved in embryo and endosperm interactions remain poorly understood. It has been shown before that CLAVATA3/ESR-RELATED 19 (CLE19) peptide is able to trigger root meristem consumption in a CLV2-dependent manner. In this study, the role of CLE19 in Arabidopsis seed development was explored using antagonistic peptide technology. CLE19 is expressed in the epidermal layers of the cotyledon primordia, hypocotyl, and root cap in the embryo. Transgenic plants carrying an antagonistic CLE19 G6T construct expressed under the control of CLE19 regulatory elements exhibited a dominant seed abortion phenotype, with defective cotyledon establishment in embryos and delayed nuclear proliferation and cellularization in endosperms. Ectopic expression of CLE19 G6T in Arabidopsis under the control of an endosperm-specific ALE1 promoter led to a similar defect in cotyledon establishment in embryos but without an evident effect on endosperm development. We therefore propose that CLE19 may act as a mobile peptide co-ordinating embryo and endosperm development.
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