Sequence and function of basic helix-loop-helix proteins required for stomatal development in Arabidopsis are deeply conserved in land plants.

ABSTRACT: Stomata are a broadly conserved feature of land plants with a crucial role regulating transpiration and gas exchange between the plant and atmosphere. Stereotyped cell divisions within a specialized cell lineage of the epidermis generate stomata and define the pattern of their distribution. The behavior of the stomatal lineage varies in its detail among different plant groups, but general features include asymmetric cell divisions and an immediate precursor (the guard mother cell [GMC]) that divides symmetrically to form the pair of cells that will differentiate into the guard cells. In Arabidopsis, the closely related basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) subgroup Ia transcription factors SPEECHLESS, MUTE, and FAMA promote asymmetric divisions, the acquisition of GMC identity and guard cell diffe

SUBMITTER: MacAlister CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3139685 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature