Signalling in multicellular models of plant development

Abstract

The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is the source of the complete part of a plant above ground. Arabidopsis thaliana has become a model system for dicot plants (Meinke et al., 1998; The-Arabidopsis-Genome-Initiative, 2000), and it has a SAM of about 10^3 cells. It retains this size and its almost half-spherical shape throughout the post-embryonic life of the plant. The SAM can be divided into cytologically defined zones where the central zone is at the very apex, the peripheral zone is on the sides, and the rib meristem is in the central parts of the meristem (Steeves and Sussex, 1989; Meyerowitz, 1997).

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