Plant regeneration: cellular origins and molecular mechanisms

• Published in: Development (Cambridge) Vol. 143; no. 9; pp. 1442 - 1451
• Main Authors: Ikeuchi, Momoko, Ogawa, Yoichi, Iwase, Akira, Sugimoto, Keiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-05-2016
• Subjects: Arabidopsis - growth & development; Arabidopsis - physiology; Cellular Reprogramming - physiology; Cytokinins - metabolism; Indoleacetic Acids - metabolism; Organogenesis, Plant - physiology; Plant Growth Regulators - metabolism; Plant Roots - growth & development; Plant Shoots - growth & development; Regeneration - physiology; Cellular reprogramming; Somatic embryogenesis; De novo organogenesis
• ISSN: 0950-1991; 1477-9129
• DOI: 10.1242/dev.134668

Compared with animals, plants generally possess a high degree of developmental plasticity and display various types of tissue or organ regeneration. This regenerative capacity can be enhanced by exogenously supplied plant hormones in vitro, wherein the balance between auxin and cytokinin determines the developmental fate of regenerating organs. Accumulating evidence suggests that some forms of plant regeneration involve reprogramming of differentiated somatic cells, whereas others are induced through the activation of relatively undifferentiated cells in somatic tissues. We summarize the current understanding of how plants control various types of regeneration and discuss how developmental and environmental constraints influence these regulatory mechanisms.