The SCARECROW Gene Regulates an Asymmetric Cell Division That Is Essential for Generating the Radial Organization of the Arabidopsis Root

• Published in: Cell Vol. 86; no. 3; pp. 423 - 433
• Main Authors: Di Laurenzio, Laura, Wysocka-Diller, Joanna, Malamy, Jocelyn E, Pysh, Leonard, Helariutta, Yrjo, Freshour, Glenn, Hahn, Michael G, Feldmann, Kenneth A, Benfey, Philip N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 09.08.1996
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis - cytology; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins; Base Sequence; Cell Division; Cloning, Molecular; DNA, Plant - analysis; Genes, Regulator - genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - physiology; Plant Roots - cytology; Transcription, Genetic
• ISSN: 0092-8674; 1097-4172
• DOI: 10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80115-4

In the Arabidopsis root meristem, initial cells undergo asymmetric divisions to generate the cell lineages of the root. The scarecrow mutation results in roots that are missing one cell layer owing to the disruption of an asymmetric division that normally generates cortex and endodermis. Tissue-specific markers indicate that a heterogeneous cell type is formed in the mutant. The deduced amino acid sequence of SCARECROW (SCR) suggests that it is a member of a novel family of putative transcription factors. SCR is expressed in the cortex/endodermal initial cells and in the endodermal cell lineage. Tissue-specific expression is regulated at the transcriptional level. These results indicate a key role for SCR in regulating the radial organization of the root.