Auxin Control of Embryo Patterning
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, Dreijenlaan 3, 6703 HA Wageningen, the Netherlands
- Correspondence: dolf.weijers{at}wur.nl
Abstract
Plants start their life as a single cell, which, during the process of embryogenesis, is transformed into a mature embryo with all organs necessary to support further growth and development. Therefore, each basic cell type is first specified in the early embryo, making this stage of development excellently suited to study mechanisms of coordinated cell specification—pattern formation. In recent years, it has emerged that the plant hormone auxin plays a prominent role in embryo development. Most pattern formation steps in the early Arabidopsis embryo depend on auxin biosynthesis, transport, and response. In this article, we describe those embryo patterning steps that involve auxin activity, and we review recent data that shed light on the molecular mechanisms of auxin action during this phase of plant development.
Footnotes
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Editors: Mark Estelle, Dolf Weijers, Karin Ljung, and Ottoline Leyser
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Additional Perspectives on Auxin Signaling at www.cshperspectives.org
- Copyright © 2009 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved