Single cell-derived multicellular meristem: insights into male-to-hermaphrodite conversion and de novo meristem formation in Ceratopteris.

ABSTRACT: Land plants alternate between asexual sporophytes and sexual gametophytes. Unlike seed plants, ferns develop free-living gametophytes. Gametophytes of the model fern Ceratopteris exhibit two sex types: hermaphrodites with pluripotent meristems and males lacking meristems. In the absence of the pheromone antheridiogen, males convert to hermaphrodites by forming de novo meristems, although the mechanisms remain unclear. Using long-term time-lapse imaging and computational analyses, we captured male-to-hermaphrodite conversion at single-cell resolution and reconstructed the lineage and division atlas of newly formed meristems. Lineage tracing revealed that the de novo-formed meristem originates from a single non-antheridium cell: the meristem progenitor cell (MPC). During conversion, the MPC

SUBMITTER: Yang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11883269 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature