Establishment of cell polarity during early plant development

doi:10.1016/S0955-0674(97)80087-7

Current Opinion in Cell Biology

Volume 9, Issue 6, December 1997, Pages 849-852

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0955-0674(97)80087-7 Get rights and content

Abstract

Cellular asymmetries have been proposed to play a role in plant embryogenesis. Genetic studies of Arabidopsis and other experimental approaches in several plant species have addressed the origins of cellular asymmetry in specific cases. Although zygote polarity, which precedes the formation of the apical—basal axis of the embryo, is normally aligned with that of the surrounding maternal tissue, isolated single somatic cells that give rise to embryos in culture appear to become polar in the absence of maternal factors. Gene expression patterns reveal the developmental consequences of cellular asymmetries occurring at later stages of embryogenesis. Genetic evidence suggests that these cellular asymmetries are established in response to as yet unidentified signals from adjacent cells.

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Cited by (24)

Cell polarity in plants: When two do the same, it is not the same....
2011, Current Opinion in Cell Biology
Citation Excerpt :
In plants the situation with different polar domains is somewhat more complex and the nomenclature is less clear. During embryogenesis, two axes of polarity are established in higher plants: an apical–basal axis defining the future shoot and root poles and a radial axis of concentric tissue layers [6] (Figure 1a). Conveniently, the same terminology used to define the position of the two poles in the embryo can be applied at the cellular level.
In unicellular and multicellular organisms, cell polarity is essential for a wide range of biological processes. An important feature of cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of proteins in or at the plasma membrane. In plants such polar localized proteins play various specific roles ranging from organizing cell morphogenesis, asymmetric cell division, pathogen defense, nutrient transport and establishment of hormone gradients for developmental patterning. Moreover, flexible respecification of cell polarities enables plants to adjust their physiology and development to environmental changes. Having evolved multicellularity independently and lacking major cell polarity mechanisms of animal cells, plants came up with alternative solutions to generate and respecify cell polarity as well as to regulate polar domains at the plasma membrane.
The secret to life is being different: Asymmetric divisions in plant development
2010, Current Opinion in Plant Biology
Citation Excerpt :
In the microspore, a large vacuole can be seen immediately before asymmetric division and this may play a mechanical role in fixing the nucleus in its position. Asymmetric distribution of vacuoles and the nucleus was also observed during Arabidopsis zygote development [47,48]. In both cell types there is some debate about how this polarity is initiated.
Asymmetric cell divisions (ACDs) are used to create organismal form and cellular diversity during plant development. In several embryonic and postembryonic contexts, genes that specify cell fates and networks that provide positional information have been identified. The cellular mechanisms that translate this information into a physically ACD, however, are still obscure. In this review we examine the cell polarization events that precede asymmetric divisions in plants. Using principles derived from studies of other organisms and from postmitotic polarity generation in plants, we endeavor to provide a framework of what is known, what is on the horizon and what is critically needed to develop a rigorous mechanistic understanding of ACDs in plants.
Depletion of the MobB and CotA complex in Aspergillus nidulans causes defects in polarity maintenance that can be suppressed by the environment stress
2008, Fungal Genetics and Biology
Polarized growth is a central feature in eukaryotes. Establishment and maintenance of cell polarity are coordinated by signaling pathways. In this study, we have identified MobB is required for the regulation of cell polarity in Aspergillus nidulans. Depletion of MobB by alcA (p) promoter repression or deletion of MobB abolished conidiation completely, and induced severe growth defects. mobB mutants showed abnormal nuclear segregation with increased number of nuclei in spores, but the formation of septa occurred among dividing cells. The phenotype of mobB in A. nidulans is similar to that of cotA. Furthermore, we verified that MobB interacted with CotA to function as a complex. Interestingly, both mobB and cotA deletion mutants clearly exhibited filament elongation by using environmental osmotic stress in the media. However, calcium channel blocker or chelator inhibited phenotype suppression of mobB or cotA mutants. These results suggest that Ca²⁺ is potentially involved in the response to the suppression coupled with osmotic stabilizer. This is the first report of the function of MobB in A. nidulans. We propose that the MobB/CotA complex, a component in the conserved RAM-signaling pathway, serves an important role in cell morphogenesis.
Latrunculin B-induced plant dwarfism: Plant cell elongation is F-actin-dependent
2001, Developmental Biology
Marine macrolides latrunculins are highly specific toxins which effectively depolymerize actin filaments (generally F-actin) in all eukaryotic cells. We show that latrunculin B is effective on diverse cell types in higher plants and describe the use of this drug in probing F-actin-dependent growth and in plant development-related processes. In contrast to other eukaryotic organisms, cell divisions occurs in plant cells devoid of all actin filaments. However, the alignment of the division planes is often distorted. In addition to cell division, postembryonic development and morphogenesis also continue in the absence of F-actin. These experimental data suggest that F-actin is of little importance in the morphogenesis of higher plants, and that plants can develop more or less normally without F-actin. In contrast, F-actin turns out to be essential for cell elongation. When latrunculin B was added during germination, morphologically normal Arabidopsis and rye seedlings developed but, as a result of the absence of cell elongation, these were stunted, resembling either genetic dwarfs or environmental bonsai plants. In conclusion, F-actin is essential for the plant cell elongation, while this F-actin-dependent cell elongation is not an essential feature of plant-specific developmental programs.
Motile plant cell body: A 'bug' within a 'cage'
2001, Trends in Plant Science
Analysis of the cytoskeleton in morphogenetically active plant cells allows us to propose a unified concept for the structural organization of eukaryotic cells. Their cytoarchitecture is determined by two principal structural complexes: nucleus–microtubule-based cell bodies (‘bugs’) and plasma-membrane–F-actin-based cell periphery complexes (‘cages’). There are dynamic interactions between each of these entities in response to extracellular and intracellular signals. In the case of the cell body, these signals determine its polarization, rotation and migration. Interactions between cell body and cell periphery complexes determine cell growth polarity and morphogenesis throughout the eukaryotic kingdom.
Cell axiality and polarity in plants - Adding pieces to the puzzle
2001, Current Opinion in Plant Biology
Plant cell polarity is important for cellular function and multicellular development. Classical physiological and cell biological analyses identified cues that orient cell polarity and suggested molecules that translate a cue into intracellular asymmetry. A range of proteins that either mark or are involved in the establishment of a (polar) axis are now available, as are many relevant mutants. These tools are likely to facilitate a dissection of the molecular mechanisms behind cell and organ polarity in the near future.

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Current Opinion in Cell Biology

Abstract

References (29)

Role of the cell wall in the determination of cell polarity and the plane of cell division in Fucus embryos

Trends Plant Sci

Axis formation in plant embryogenesis: cues and clues

Cell

Maternal effects of the short integument mutation on embryo development in Arabidopsis

Dev Biol

Isolated maize zygotes mimic in vivo embryonic development and express microinjected genes when cultured in vitro

Dev Biol

Embryonic origin of the Arabidopsis primary root and root meristem initials

Development

The microtubular cytoskeleton during development of the zygote, proembryo, and free-nuclear endosperm in Arabidopsis thaliana (L) Heynh

Planta

From in vitro fertilization to early embryogenesis in maize

Photoplasma

Somatic embryogenesis in cultured immature zygotic embryos and leaf protoplasts of Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes

Planta

Apical-basal pattern formation in the Arabidopsis embryo: studies on the role of the gnom gene

Development

Pattern formation in the Arabidopsis embryo revealed by position-specific lipid transfer protein gene expression

Plant Cell

Nucleotide exchange on ARF mediated by yeast Gea1 protein

Nature

A leucine-rich repeat containing receptor-like kinase marks somatic plant cells competent to form embryos

Development

The CLAVATA1 gene encodes a putative receptor kinase that controls shoot and floral meristem size in Arabidopsis

Cell

The Arabidopsis ERECTA gene encodes a putative receptor protein kinase with extracellular leucine-rich repeats

Plant Cell

Cited by (24)

Cell polarity in plants: When two do the same, it is not the same....

The secret to life is being different: Asymmetric divisions in plant development

Depletion of the MobB and CotA complex in Aspergillus nidulans causes defects in polarity maintenance that can be suppressed by the environment stress

Latrunculin B-induced plant dwarfism: Plant cell elongation is F-actin-dependent

Motile plant cell body: A 'bug' within a 'cage'

Cell axiality and polarity in plants - Adding pieces to the puzzle