RETINOBLASTOMA RELATED1 mediates germline entry in Arabidopsis
Zhao X, Bramsiepe J, Van Durme M, Komaki S, Prusicki MA, Maruyama D, Forner J, Medzihradszky A, Wijnker E, Harashima H, Lu Y, Schmidt A, Guthörl D, Logroño RS, Guan Y, Pochon G, Grossniklaus U, Laux T, Higashiyama T, Lohmann JU, Nowack MK, Schnittger A.
Plants, unlike animals develop germ cells on demand from somatic lineages. Zhao et al. examine the regulation of the transition from a somatic to a germ cell in Arabidopsis. The transcription factor WUSCHEL (WUS) is needed for ovule development. Soon after germ cell specification, a trio of inhibitors that work through a cyclin-dependent kinase allow a transcriptional repressor to down-regulate WUS. This activates germ cell meiosis, restricting the number of reproductive units per ovule to one.
