Molecule mechanism of stem cells in Arabidopsis thaliana

Plants possess the ability to continually produce new tissues and organs throughout their life. Unlike animals, plants are exposed to extreme variations in environmental conditions over the course of their lives. The vitality of plants is so powerful that they can survive several hundreds of years or even more making it an amazing miracle that comes from plant stem cells. The stem cells continue to divide to renew themselves and provide cells for the formation of leaves, stems, and flowers. Stem cells are not only quiescent but also immortal, pluripotent and homeostatic. Stem cells are the magic cells that repair tissues and regenerate organs. During the past decade, scholars around the world have paid more and more attention toward plant stem cells. At present, the major challenge is in relating molecule action mechanism to root apical meristem, shoot apical meristem and vascular system. The coordination between stem cells maintenance and differentiation is critical for normal plant growth and development. Elements such as phytohormones, transcription factors and some other known or unknown genes cooperate to balance this process. In this review, Arabidopsis thaliana as a pioneer system, we highlight recent developments in molecule modulating, illustrating how plant stem cells generate new mechanistic insights into the regulation of plants growth and development.