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Emerging Role of the Ubiquitin Proteasome System in the Control of Shoot Apical Meristem Function F
Author(s) -
Di Giacomo Elisabetta,
Serino Giovanna,
Frugis Giovanna
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of integrative plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.734
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1744-7909
pISSN - 1672-9072
DOI - 10.1111/jipb.12010
Subject(s) - meristem , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , ubiquitin , proteasome , transcription factor , population , shoot , computational biology , botany , genetics , gene , demography , sociology
The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is a population of undifferentiated cells at the tip of the shoot axis that establishes early during plant embryogenesis and gives rise to all shoot organs throughout the plant's life. A plethora of different families of transcription factors (TFs) play a key role in establishing the equilibrium between cell differentiation and stem cell maintenance in the SAM. Fine tuning of these regulatory proteins is crucial for a proper and fast SAM response to environmental and hormonal cues, and for development progression. One effective way to rapidly inactivate TFs involves regulated proteolysis by the ubiquitin/26S proteasome system (UPS). However, a possible role of UPS‐dependent protein degradation in the regulation of key SAM TFs has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we summarize recent evidence supporting a role for the UPS in SAM maintenance and function. We integrate this survey with an in silico analysis of publicly‐available microarray databases which identified ubiquitin ligases that are expressed in specific areas within the SAM, suggesting that they may regulate or act downstream of meristem‐specific factors.[ Giovanna Frugis (Corresponding author)]