An experimentally tractable system for investigating cell-fate determination in plants is the specification of the predictable pattern of hair and non-hair cells seen in the Arabidopsis root epidermis. Several putative transcriptional regulators have been implicated in this process and, on , Bernhardt et al. report that two Arabidopsis genes encoding basic helix-loop-helix proteins - GLABRA3 (GL3) and ENHANCER OF GLABRA3 (EGL3) - act in a partly redundant manner during the specification of root epidermal cells. No non-hair cells were formed in plants carrying homozygous null mutations in both genes. Conversely, overexpression of either gene produced ectopic non-hair cells. Other results indicate that GL3/EGL3 also influence hair cell specification,leading the researchers to propose a model in which interactions between GL3/EGL3 and the MYB proteins WEREWOLF and CAPRICE mediate cell-fate decision during the development of the root epidermis.
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December 2003
Development Journal Meeting 2023
We are delighted to announce that our 2023 Journal Meeting ‘Unconventional and Emerging Experimental Organisms in Cell and Developmental Biology’ will be held from 17-20 September 2023 at Wotton House, Surrey, UK. Find out more and register here.
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.
preLights 5th Birthday webinar
preLights, our preprint highlighting service, is celebrating its 5th birthday this year. To mark the occasion, join us online on 14 March 2023 at 16:00 GMT for a discussion, led by four preLights alumni, on how to identify and navigate the challenges and opportunities while shaping your career as an early-career researcher.
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
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.
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