Characterization of genes for cell polarity and asymmetric cell division in plants

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Asymmetric cell division produces two different daughter cells. Although unequal distribution of mRNA or proteins has been known to play a pivotal role to specialize each daughter cell, such molecules in plants remain largely unknown. Protoplasts and apical stem cells of protonemata of the moss, Physcomitrella patens divide asymmetrically to generate two different daughter cells. We have previously reported 59 genes as candidates involved in the asymmetric cell division. For those candidates, we made transgenic plants expressing the citrine-fusion protein by using the gene targeting technique to investigate protein localization under a control of their native promoters. We carried out time-lapse imaging of these proteins during asymmetric cell division and found some proteins accumulated preferentially in the stem cells but not in differentiated protonemal cells. We also showed some of them resumed the accumulation upon dedifferentiation of the protonemal, somatic cells.