Molecular Genetics of Shoot Apical Meristems

在植物中，发育是从活动中不断发生的， 由多能细胞组成的小群体，称为分生组织。的 植物的整个地上部分从连续的 在茎尖中发现的分生组织中的事件， 分生组织由于许多植物的寿命长达一年并不罕见， 世纪，茎尖分生组织的持续活动 描述了生物学中无与伦比的过程。本研究 将集中在分生组织中的分子事件如何发挥作用， 做一个植物。具有分生组织富集表达的基因， 将对“梅里”进行研究。的表达模式 将确认手中的特定cDNA并定位在 组织特异性水平。将分离额外的meri克隆。 最特异性克隆的转录启动子将是 定义，与报告基因（GUS）融合，并转移到 拟南芥属植物。表达嵌合的 将分析meri-GUS基因的组织学表达， 确认定位研究并确定meri基因 在分生组织的动态事件中表达。此外，委员会认为， meri基因对生理线索的反应将是 通过将“meri-GUS”植物与转基因系杂交来检查 能够改变热诱导激素。这些研究将 提供了对茎顶端分生组织中基因 在发育中的作用，从而了解分生组织如何 “制造”一种植物。

In plants, development takes place continuously from activities of small groups of pluripotent cells known as meristems. The entire above ground portion of a plant develops from continuous events in a meristem found in the shoot apex, the shoot apical meristem. Since it is not uncommon for many plants to live for a century, the continuous activities in shoot apical meristems describes processes unmatched elsewhere in biology. This study will focus on how molecular events in the meristem function to make a plant. Genes with meristematic enriched expression, designated "meri", will be studied. Expression patterns for specific cDNAs in hand will be confirmed and localized on a tissue specific level. Additional meri clones will be isolated. The transcriptional promoter for the most specific clones will be defined, fused to a reporter gene (GUS) and transferred to Arabidopsis plants. Transgenic plants expressing the chimeric meri-GUS gene will be analyzed for histological expression to confirm localization studies and to determine how the meri genes are expressed in the dynamic events in meristems. Furthermore, the response of the meri genes to physiological cues will be examined by crossing the 'meri-GUS' plants to a transgenic line capable of heat inducible hormone alterations. These studies will provide insight into how genes within the shoot apical meristem function in development, and hence insight into how the meristem "makes" a plant.