Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2025

Isolation and Transcriptome Analysis of Plant Cell Types
Published on: April 7, 2023
The central role of stem cells in determining plant longevity variation
Omid Karami1, Bernd Mueller-Roeber2, Arezoo Rahimi1
1Plant Developmental Genetics, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333 BE Leiden, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Vascular plants display a huge variety of longevity patterns, from a few weeks for several annual species up to thousands of years for some perennial species. Understanding how longevity variation is structured has long been considered a fundamental aspect of the life sciences in view of evolution, species distribution, and adaptation to diverse environments. Unlike animals, whose organs are typically formed during embryogenesis, vascular plants manage to extend their life by continuously producing new tissues and organs in apical and lateral directions via proliferation of stem cells located within specialized tissues called meristems. Stem cells are the main source of plant longevity. Variation in plant longevity is highly dependent on the activity and fate identity of stem cells. Multiple developmental factors determine how stem cells contribute to variation in plant longevity. In this review, we provide an overview of the genetic mechanisms, hormonal signaling, and environmental factors involved in controlling plant longevity through long-term maintenance of stem cell fate identity.
Related Concept Videos
Meristems and Plant Growth
Primary and Secondary Growth in Roots and Shoots
Stem Cell Culture
Multipotency of Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Source And Potency Of Stem Cells
Adult Stem Cells

