Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Center for Plant Cell Biology (CEPCEB), Institute of Integrative Genome Biology (IIGB), University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA.
Genes Dev. 2011 Oct 1;25(19):2025-30. doi: 10.1101/gad.17258511.
WUSCHEL (WUS) is a homeodomain transcription factor produced in cells of the niche/organizing center (OC) of shoot apical meristems. WUS specifies stem cell fate and also restricts its own levels by activating a negative regulator, CLAVATA3 (CLV3), in adjacent cells of the central zone (CZ). Here we show that the WUS protein, after being synthesized in cells of the OC, migrates into the CZ, where it activates CLV3 transcription by binding to its promoter elements. Using a computational model, we show that maintenance of the WUS gradient is essential to regulate stem cell number. Migration of a stem cell-inducing transcription factor into adjacent cells to activate a negative regulator, thereby restricting its own accumulation, is a theme that is unique to plant stem cell niches.
WUSCHEL（WUS）是一种同源域转录因子，在茎尖分生组织的小生境/组织中心（OC）的细胞中产生。WUS 决定干细胞命运，并通过在中央区（CZ）的相邻细胞中激活负调节剂 CLAVATA3（CLV3）来限制自身水平。在这里，我们表明 WUS 蛋白在 OC 细胞中合成后，迁移到 CZ，在那里它通过与启动子元件结合来激活 CLV3 转录。使用计算模型，我们表明维持 WUS 梯度对于调节干细胞数量是必不可少的。诱导转录因子进入相邻细胞以激活负调节剂从而限制自身积累的迁移，这是植物干细胞小生境所特有的主题。
