Abstract
The moss Physcomitrella patens is one of useful model organism because genomic information and reverse genetic tools such as gene targeting are available. By using these, we study stem cell formation that traces the process of transdifferentiation from a leaf cell to a pluripotent stem cell as a model of plant totipotency. Although forward genetics using mutants is a powerful approach to identify novel factors, it is difficult to carry out it in P. patens because its genomic physical map and effective method of T-DNA tagging using Agrobacterium have not been established. To identify the factors concerned with stem cell formation in P. patens, we performed screening of the chemicals inhibiting stem cell formation. Using the chemical library including 10000 synthetic compounds with diversity, we selected about 500 compounds as candidates for inhibitors of stem cell formation. To characterize the chemical function, further analyses are undergoing.
