Abstract
The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is the fundamental structure that is located at the growing tip and gives rise to all aerial parts of plant tissues and organs, such as leaves, stems and flowers. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the CLAVATA3 (CLV3) pathway regulates the stem cell pool in the SAM, in which a small peptide ligand derived from CLV3 is perceived by two major receptor complexes, CLV1 and CLV2-CORYNE (CRN)/SUPPRESSOR OF LLP1 2 (SOL2), to restrict WUSCHEL (WUS) expression. We identified that the SOL2 function as a CLV3 peptide perception, and the SOL2 function as a heterodimer with CLV2. We further used the functional, synthetic CLV3 peptide (MCLV3) to isolate CLV3-insensitive mutants and revealed that a receptor-like kinase, RECEPTOR-LIKE PROTEIN KINASE 2 (RPK2), is the third receptor of CLV3 signal. We also identified that the CLV3 ligand induces CLV1 phosphorylation and MAPK activation. Here I will introduce about our recent work and review about CLV3 system on meristem maintenance system in Arabidopsis.
