Cell morphogenesis in Arabidopsis

Abstract

Cell morphogenesis encompasses all processes required to establish a three‐dimensional cell shape. Cells acquire the architecture specific to their developmental context by using the spatial information provided by internal or external cues. As a response to these signals, cells become reorganized and establish functionally distinct subcellular domains that ultimately lead to morphological changes. In its simplest form, cell morphogenesis results in the establishment of asymmetry along one axis, a cell polarity. Although cell polarity has been studied intensively in budding yeast and epithelial cells, little is known about more complex modes of cell morphogenesis involving multiple axes. In this review we compare the regulation of cell morphogenesis of different genetically well‐characterized cell types in Arabidopsis thaliana. BioEssays 20:20–29, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Trichome morphogenesis inArabidopsis

“…In plants, two mechanistically di¡erent growth modes of cells are distinguished (Hu« lskamp et al 1998): (i) tip growthötip-growing cells such as root hairs and pollen tubes are cells that have ceased cell divisions and grow exclusively at the extreme tip; (ii) elongationöcell elongation is typically found in dividing cell populations after cell division activity has ceased. During cell elongation growth is not restricted to the ends of the cell.…”

“…In plants, only few cell types are suitable to study how cells control their cell shape in a spatially de¢ned manner (Hu« lskamp et al 1998). The directionality of tip growth is studied in pollen tubes and in root hairs (Aeschbacher et al 1994).…”

A contradictoryGLABRA3allele helps define gene interactions controlling trichome development inArabidopsis

“…There is a pattern to trichome development in that trichomes rarely develop next to one another and this pattern appears to be controlled by cell-cell communication (Larkin et al, 1996). The development of leaf trichomes in Arabidopsis is being used to address questions concerning cell fate specification, pattern formation and cellular differentiation (Hülskamp et al, 1998;Marks et al, 1991;Szymanski et al, 2000).…”

5 Digging out Roots: Pattern Formation, Cell Division, and Morphogenesis in Plants

“…A recent review extensively discusses the current knowledge on cell morphogenesis-i.e., the acquisition of a particular shape-of different genetically well-characterized cell types in Arabidopsis (Hulskamp et al, 1997). Instead we will concentrate here on organ morphogenesis.…”