Lindsay, Penelope, Swentowsky, Kyle W, Jackson, David (December 2023) Cultivating Potential: Harnessing Plant Stem Cells for Agricultural Crop Improvement. Molecular Plant. ISSN 1674-2052
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Abstract
Meristems are stem cell-containing structures that produce all plant organs and are therefore important targets for crop improvement. Developmental regulators control the balance and rate of cell divisions within the meristem. Altering these regulators impacts meristem architecture and as a consequence, plant form. In this review, we discuss genes involved in regulating the shoot apical meristem (SAM), inflorescence meristem (IM), axillary meristem (AM), root apical meristem (RAM), and vascular cambium in plants. We also highlight examples of how crop breeders have manipulated developmental regulators to modify meristem growth, altering crop traits including inflorescence size and branching patterns. Plant transformation techniques are another innovation related to plant meristem research, since they make crop genome engineering possible. We discuss recent advances in plant transformation research made possible by studying genes that control meristem development. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of how meristem research can contribute to crop improvement in the coming decades.
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