Skip to content
Open access

PAX-regulated self-organizing polarity drives procambial strand formation.

Aug 2026 · Nature Plants · 0 citations · 36 references
Medicine

TL;DR

A novel, auxin-guided role for the polar PAX protein in establishing cell and tissue polarity that precedes and is independent of the polarization and activity of PIN auxin transporters is uncovered.

Abstract

In plants, the vascular network enables the transport of water, nutrients and metabolites. The vascular network formed in leaves is a striking example of tissue patterning, and leaf venation is a defining leaf feature. During patterning, veins arise from aligned, elongated procambial cells derived from undifferentiated ground meristem cells. The mechanisms behind procambial strand formation involving cell selection, polarization, alignment, elongation and division have remained elusive. Here we identify a previously uncharacterized role for the polar protein PAX in establishing coordinated cell and tissue polarity during this process. We uncover a novel, auxin-guided role for the polar PAX protein in establishing cell and tissue polarity that precedes and is independent of the polarization and activity of PIN auxin transporters. Our findings refine and redefine existing models of vascular patterning during vein network formation in plant leaves.

Read PDF

Similar papers

Open access Aug 2026

Progressive oxygenation of developing leaves directs morphogenesis

It is shown that developing leaves form a spatiotemporal oxygen gradient that is sensed through the oxygen-sensing machinery, revealing that oxygen acts as a positional cue in normal growth, guiding developmental trajectories.

Gabriele Panicucci, Vinay Shukla, Viktoriia Voloboeva et al. · 0 citations
Open access Aug 2026

RHO GTPase of Plants contributes to robust establishment of cellular asymmetry during development from a single cell

A fundamental question in developmental biology is how highly complex, yet reproducible multicellular body plans form from a single cell. The multicellular haploid body of the land plant Marchantia polymorpha develops from a single isolated cell – the spore – that divides asymmetrically. This produces a small terminall...

Hugh Mulvey, Yuuki Sakai, Katharina Jandrasits et al. · 0 citations
Open access Sep 2026

An embryo-derived peptide signal directs endosperm polarity in Arabidopsis.

Angiosperm seed formation requires the coordinated development of the products of double fertilization-the embryo and the endosperm. The endosperm mediates efficient nutrient transfer from surrounding maternal tissues to the developing embryo. This function requires a polarized tissue organization, which manifests as e...

Audrey Creff, Jack Rhodes, Camille Salaün et al. · 0 citations
Review Open access Sep 2026

A genetic access to plant cell axis formation

The subsequent molecular elucidation of the signal transduction and transport mechanisms for auxin and other hormones made it possible to track hormone signalling much more precisely and, in many cases, to integrate hormone signals into models of plant pattern formation.

T. Berleth, Christian S. Hardtke, Jim Mattson et al. · 1 citation
Review Open access Sep 2026

Hormonal architects: Plant steroids shape meristems.

In plants, the shoot and root apical meristems drive post-embryonic development by tightly coordinating stem cell maintenance, cell proliferation, and differentiation. Among the hormonal regulators governing these processes, brassinosteroids (BRs) have emerged as important modulators of meristem function. Although BRs...

T. Barragán-Lozano, Wei-Yuan Song, Qian Ma et al. · 0 citations
Review Open access Sep 2026

Maintenance Mechanism of Plant Shoot Apex Cell Arrangement by WUSCHEL and CLAVATA Genes

The genetic regulatory mechanisms that play a role in maintaining stem cell identity and limiting meristem size during plant development are clarified and the functional significance of the WUS-CLV interaction in SAM is evaluated.

Abas Mohammed, Hilal Eroğlu, Serap Sağlam · 0 citations

We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads. See our Cookie Policy.