Auxin regulates gene expression in Arabidopsis through Auxin Response Factors (ARFs). While most ARF functions remain elusive, patterning functions have been assigned to some, including MONOPTEROS(MP/ARF5), which promotes stem cell formation in the root and shoot apical meristem. Thomas Berleth's group now show that MP primarily functions to counteract the activity of the carboxypeptidase ALTERED MERISTEM PROGRAM 1 (AMP1), which restricts meristem size. Their analysis of single and double mutants in Arabidopsis, reported on p. 2561, reveals that in the absence of AMP1 activity, MP patterning activity is largely dispensible, and that in MP mutants, meristem cells differentiate because of unimpeded AMP1 activity. These researchers propose that MP represses AMP1's activity and maintains niches, an idea that is supported by the two genes' overlapping expression domains: where they overlap, antagonism occurs. As AMP1 transcript levels are normal in MP mutants, this antagonism is not transcriptionally regulated. Moreover, MP and AMP1 localise to different cellular compartments, so exactly how this antagonism occurs remains unknown.
Antagonism in Arabidopsis mediates patterning
Antagonism in Arabidopsis mediates patterning. Development 15 July 2007; 134 (14): e1401. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
Pathway to Independence programme

We’re excited to announce our new Pathway to Independence programme, aimed at supporting postdocs as they go on the job market. Find out more about the scheme in our Editorial.
Call for papers: Metabolic and Nutritional Control of Development and Regeneration

We are welcoming submissions for our next special issue, which will focus on metabolic and nutritional control of development and regeneration. Submission deadline: 15 May 2023.
Webinar: Increasing the visibility and impact of your research
-HUBSwebinar.jpg?versionId=4486)
Would you like to increase the visibility and impact of your research and raise your profile internationally? If so, register for the very practical webinar we are running in association with HUBS on 23 February 2023.
Transitions in development: Daniel Grimes

Daniel Grimes’s lab studies the consequences of ciliary mutations, including left-right patterning defects and scoliosis. We interviewed Daniel to find out more about his career path, his experience of becoming a group leader and the influence of Jurassic Park.
Preprints in Development
(update)-InPreprints.png?versionId=4486)
As part of our efforts to support the use of preprints and help curate the preprint literature, we are delighted to launch a new article type: ‘In preprints’. These pieces will discuss one or more recent preprints and place them in a broader context.