The diversification of the shoot branching system: A quantitative and comparative perspective in meristem determinacy

Reiterative shoot branching largely defines important yield components of crops and is essentially controlled by programs that direct the initiation, dormancy release, and differentiation of meristems in the axils of leaves. Here, we focus on meristem determinacy, defining the number of reiterations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in plant biology 2024-10, Vol.81, p.102574, Article 102574
Main Authors: Li, Jiajia, Yao, Xiani, Lai, Huan, Zhang, Xuelian, Zhong, Jinshun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Axillary meristems
Biological Evolution
Fate specification
Long and short branches
Meristem - genetics
Meristem - growth & development
Meristem determinacy
Plant Shoots - genetics
Plant Shoots - growth & development
Shoot and inflorescence architectures
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Summary:Reiterative shoot branching largely defines important yield components of crops and is essentially controlled by programs that direct the initiation, dormancy release, and differentiation of meristems in the axils of leaves. Here, we focus on meristem determinacy, defining the number of reiterations that shape the shoot architectures and exhibit enormous diversity in a wide range of species. The meristem determinacy per se is hierarchically complex and context-dependent for the successively emerged meristems, representing a crucial mechanism in shaping the complexity of the shoot branching. In addition, we have highlighted that two key components of axillary meristem developmental programs may have been co-opted in controlling flower/ear number of an axillary inflorescence in legumes/maize, hinting at the diversification of axillary-meristem-patterning programs in different lineages. This begs the question how axillary meristem patterning programs may have diversified during plant evolution and hence helped shape the rich variation in shoot branching systems.
ISSN:1369-5266
1879-0356
1879-0356
DOI:10.1016/j.pbi.2024.102574