Conservation and divergence of WOX functions in regenerative responses across land plants

Land plants have evolved diverse regenerative responses as survival strategies. Recent functional analyses using model species from various lineages reveal that plants utilize a common set of transcription factors as a toolkit to achieve tissue repair and organ regeneration. It is still unknown how the functional diversification of these molecular toolkits has enabled the specific cellular and developmental reprogramming observed in each plant lineage. In this article, we focus on the WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX (WOX) family as key regulators of organ regeneration in land plants and discuss their functions in stem cell formation and tissue repair processes. We especially highlight the regulatory role of WOXs in controlling cell wall properties, which appears to be associated with stem cell function in alternative ways in the different plant lineages.