Xie Chong, Zhang Cankui, Liu Xing, Zhou Yun
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, U.S.A.
Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, U.S.A.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2025 Feb 13;53(1):BST20240728. doi: 10.1042/BST20240728.
The life cycle of land plants is characterized by alternating generations of sexual gametophytes and asexual sporophytes. Unlike seed plants, seed-free vascular plants, including ferns, initiate and maintain pluripotent meristems during their gametophyte phase to sustain body expansion and drive the formation of sexual organs for reproduction. This review summarizes meristem development among various fern species during the gametophyte phase, focusing on the cellular basis of meristem initiation, proliferation, and termination. We review the different types of gametophytic meristems in ferns, including apical cell (AC)-based meristems, multicellular apical meristems, and multicellular marginal meristems. We highlight both conserved and lineage-specific patterns of cell division, which are closely associated with these meristem identities and play crucial roles in shaping gametophytic morphology. Additionally, we highlight recent progress in understanding the dynamics of cell division and growth that drive meristem development, through studies that integrate confocal live imaging and computational quantitative analysis. Furthermore, we discuss the influence of environmental and genetic factors on cell division activity in fern gametophytes, including conserved transcriptional regulators that sustain meristem indeterminacy and proliferation in the model fern Ceratopteris richardii.
陆地植物的生命周期以有性配子体和无性孢子体世代交替为特征。与种子植物不同，包括蕨类植物在内的无种子维管植物在其配子体阶段启动并维持多能分生组织，以维持身体扩展并驱动用于繁殖的性器官的形成。本综述总结了蕨类植物配子体阶段不同蕨类物种的分生组织发育，重点关注分生组织起始、增殖和终止的细胞基础。我们回顾了蕨类植物中不同类型的配子体分生组织，包括基于顶端细胞（AC）的分生组织、多细胞顶端分生组织和多细胞边缘分生组织。我们强调了与这些分生组织身份密切相关且在塑造配子体形态中起关键作用的保守和谱系特异性细胞分裂模式。此外，我们通过整合共聚焦实时成像和计算定量分析的研究，强调了在理解驱动分生组织发育的细胞分裂和生长动态方面的最新进展。此外，我们讨论了环境和遗传因素对蕨类植物配子体细胞分裂活动的影响，包括在模式蕨类植物里氏鸟巢蕨中维持分生组织不确定性和增殖的保守转录调节因子。
