Hormonal regulation of stem cell maintenance in roots

During plant embryogenesis, the apical-basal axis is established and both the shoot apical meristem (SAM) and the root apical meristem (RAM) are formed. In both meristems, there are slowly dividing cells which control the differentiation of their surrounding cells called the organizing centre (OC) and the quiescent centre (QC) in the shoot and root, respectively. These centres with their surrounding initial cells form a 'stem cell niche'. The initial cells eventually differentiate into various plant tissues, giving rise to plant organs such as lateral shoots, flowers, leaves, and lateral roots. Plant hormones are important factors involved in the balance between cell division and differentiation such that plant growth and development are tightly controlled in space and time. No single hormone acts by itself in regulating the meristematic activity in the root meristem. Division and differentiation are controlled by interactions between several hormones. Intensive research on plant stem cells has focused on how cell division is regulated to form specific plant organs and tissues, how differentiation is controlled, and how stem cell fate is coordinated. In this review, recent knowledge pertaining to the role of plant hormones in maintaining root stem cells including the QC is summarized and discussed. Furthermore, we suggest diverse approaches to answering the main question of how root stem cells are regulated and maintained by plant hormones.