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Evolution of meristem zonation by CLE gene duplication in land plants

Nature Plants volume 8, pages 735–740 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

In angiosperms, a negative feedback pathway involving CLAVATA3 (CLV3) peptide and WUSCHEL transcription factor maintains the stem-cell population in the shoot apical meristem and is central for continued shoot growth and organogenesis. An intriguing question is how this cell-signalling system was established during the evolution of land plants. On the basis of two recent studies on CLV3/ESR-related (CLE) genes, this paper proposes a model for the evolution of meristem zonation. The model suggests that a stem-cell-limiting CLV3 pathway is derived from stem-cell-promoting CLE pathways conserved in land pants by gene duplication in the angiosperm lineage. The model can be examined in the future by genomic and developmental studies on diverse plant species.

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Fig. 1: Canonical CLV3–WUS signalling pathway in angiosperms.
Fig. 2: Gene duplication and the expansion of CLE family in land plants.
Fig. 3: M. polymorpha CLV3-type CLE is a positive regulator of stem-cell population size.
Fig. 4: A model for the evolution of meristem zonation by CLE gene duplication.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks J. L. Bowman, C. Furumizu, N. Uchida, G. Takahashi and J. P. Alvarez for discussion and comments on the manuscript, and apologizes to authors of literature that could not be cited due to space constraints. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. JP19K06727 and JP22H02676 and by a Research Grant from the Abe Yoshishige Memorial Fund.

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  1. Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuki Hirakawa

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Y.H. conceived the idea, analysed the data, generated figures and wrote the manuscript.

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Hirakawa, Y. Evolution of meristem zonation by CLE gene duplication in land plants. Nat. Plants 8, 735–740 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01199-7

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