Molecular mechanism of plant axis formation during early embryogenesis

Abstract

During embryogenesis, the basic body plan of an organism develops from a unicellular zygote. In most flowering plants, the zygote divides asymmetrically, generating two daughter cells of different fates: the small apical daughter will form the aerial organs of the plant, whereas the large basal cell will produce the below-ground root. Despite the obvious importance, how the zygote polarizes and how this asymmetry is translated to the body axis have been obscure. In this review, we summarize the recent findings of these mechanisms, mainly focusing on the molecular genetics of Arabidopsis.