Open AccessCell division in the shoot apical meristem is a trigger for miR156 decline and vegetative phase transition in Arabidopsis
Author(s) -
Ying-Juan Cheng,
Guan-Dong Shang,
Zhou-Geng Xu,
Sha Yu,
LianYu Wu,
Dong Zhai,
Shuanghong Tian,
Jian Gao,
Long Wang,
Jiawei Wang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2115667118
Subject(s) - meristem , biology , arabidopsis , multicellular organism , cell division , microbiology and biotechnology , apical cell , arabidopsis thaliana , botany , cell , gene , shoot , genetics , mutant
What determines the rate at which a multicellular organism matures is a fundamental question in biology. In plants, the decline of miR156 with age serves as an intrinsic, evolutionarily conserved timer for the juvenile-to-adult phase transition. However, the way in which age regulates miR156 abundance is poorly understood. Here, we show that the rate of decline in miR156 is correlated with developmental age rather than chronological age. Mechanistically, we found that cell division in the apical meristem is a trigger for miR156 decline. The transcriptional activity of MIR156 genes is gradually attenuated by the deposition of the repressive histone mark H3K27me3 along with cell division. Our findings thus provide a plausible explanation of why the maturation program of a multicellular organism is unidirectional and irreversible under normal growth conditions and suggest that cell quiescence is the fountain of youth in plants.