A conversation across generations: soma-germ cell crosstalk in plants.

Plants undergo alternation of generation in which reproductive cells develop in the plant body ("sporophytic generation") and then differentiate into a multicellular gamete-forming "gametophytic generation." Different populations of helper cells assist in this transgenerational journey, with somatic tissues supporting early development and single nurse cells supporting gametogenesis. New data reveal a two-way relationship between early reproductive cells and their helpers involving complex epigenetic and signaling networks determining cell number and fate. Later, the egg cell plays a central role in specifying accessory cells, whereas in both gametophytes, companion cells contribute non-cell-autonomously to the epigenetic landscape of the gamete genomes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Xiaoqi Feng, Daniel Zilberman, Hugh Dickinson. A conversation across generations: soma-germ cell crosstalk in plants. Developmental cell. 2013 Feb 11;24(3):215-25

Mesh Tags

PMID: 23410937

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