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Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Long-term, High-resolution Confocal Time Lapse Imaging of Arabidopsis Cotyledon Epidermis during Germination
Published on: December 31, 2012
Unlocking nature's (sub)cellular symphony: Phase separation in plant meristems
Ali Eljebbawi1, Anika Dolata1, Vivien I Strotmann1
1Institute for Developmental Genetics, Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
Plant development is based on the balance of stem cell maintenance and differentiation in the shoot and root meristems. The necessary cell fate decisions are regulated by intricate networks of proteins and biomolecules within plant cells and require robust and dynamic compartmentalization strategies, including liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), which allows the formation of membrane-less compartments. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the emerging field of LLPS in plant development, with a particular focus on the shoot and root meristems. LLPS regulates not only floral transition and flowering time while integrating environmental signals in the shoots but also influences auxin signalling and is putatively involved in maintaining the stem cell niche (SCN) in the roots. Therefore, LLPS has the potential to play a crucial role in the plasticity of plant development, necessitating further research for a comprehensive understanding.
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