Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2025
12:17
Initiating Differentiation in Immortalized Multipotent Otic Progenitor Cells
Published on: January 2, 2016
8.6K
Stepping on the molecular brake: Slowing down proliferation to allow differentiation
Isabella Burda1, Adrienne H K Roeder1
1Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics, Genomics, and Development Graduate Field and School of Integrative Plant Science, Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Developmental Cell
|March 15, 2022
Summary
The transcription factor MUTE controls cell cycle progression. MUTE activates a CDK inhibitor, slowing G1 phase during stomatal differentiation.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Cell cycle regulation
- Molecular genetics
Background:
- Cellular differentiation involves cell cycle modifications.
- Understanding cell cycle control during differentiation is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of transcription factor MUTE in cell cycle regulation during stomatal differentiation.
- To identify downstream targets of MUTE involved in cell cycle control.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of gene expression.
- Investigating the interaction between MUTE and SMR4.
- Studying cell cycle progression in plant cells.
Main Results:
- MUTE directly activates the expression of SIAMESE RELATED 4 (SMR4).
- SMR4 acts as a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor.
- Activation of SMR4 leads to a slowdown in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.
Conclusions:
- MUTE plays a key role in regulating the cell cycle during stomatal differentiation.
- The MUTE-SMR4 pathway is essential for controlling the timing of cell cycle progression.
- This finding provides insights into the molecular mechanisms linking transcription factors to cell cycle control in plants.
Related Concept Videos
00:57Cellular Differentiation
4.0K
How does a complex organism such as a human develop from a single cell? It all starts from a single fertilized egg which gives rise to a vast array of cell types, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, and epithelial cells that characterize the adult? Throughout development and adulthood, cellular differentiation leads cells to assume their final morphology and physiology. Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells become specialized to carry out distinct functions.
A zygote is a...
A zygote is a...
4.0K
01:23Negative Regulator Molecules
36.3K
Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.
36.3K
02:36Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation
4.6K
Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...
4.6K
01:28Forced Transdifferentiation
2.0K
Transdifferentiation, also known as lineage reprogramming, was first discovered by Selman and Kafatos in 1974 in silkmoths. They observed that the moths’ cuticle-producing cells transformed into salt-producing cells. Many such cases of natural transdifferentiation occur in organisms. In humans, pancreatic alpha cells can become beta cells. In newts, the loss of the eye’s lens causes the pigmented epithelial cells to transdifferentiate into the lens cells.
Artificial...
Artificial...
2.0K
01:27Molecular Factors Affecting Cell Division
3.4K
Several external and internal factors influence the initiation and inhibition of cell division. For instance, the death of nearby cells or the release of human growth hormone (hGH) promotes cell division. In contrast, lack of hGH or crowding of cells can inhibit cell division.
Several proteins function as internal regulators to ensure each cell cycle stage is completed faithfully before proceeding to the next. Regulator molecules may act directly or influence the activity or production of other...
Several proteins function as internal regulators to ensure each cell cycle stage is completed faithfully before proceeding to the next. Regulator molecules may act directly or influence the activity or production of other...
3.4K
01:22iPS Cell Differentiation
2.8K
The ability of induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs to differentiate into most body cell types has stimulated repair and regenerative medicine research over the past few decades. iPSC-derived blood cells, hepatocytes, beta islet cells, cardiomyocytes, neurons, and other cell types can repair injuries or regenerate damaged tissue in diseases such as diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders.
2.8K