Stem-cell-ubiquitous genes spatiotemporally coordinate division through regulation of stem-cell-specific gene networks

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 5574 - 11
• Main Authors: Clark, Natalie M., Buckner, Eli, Fisher, Adam P., Nelson, Emily C., Nguyen, Thomas T., Simmons, Abigail R., de Luis Balaguer, Maria A., Butler-Smith, Tiara, Sheldon, Parnell J., Bergmann, Dominique C., Williams, Cranos M., Sozzani, Rossangela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 06-12-2019; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/100; 14/19; 14/35; 38/39; 38/88; 38/91; 631/114/2114; 631/449/2653/2654; 631/532/2441; Arabidopsis - cytology; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis - growth & development; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Asymmetric Cell Division - genetics; Asymmetric Cell Division - physiology; Cell Differentiation; Cell Division; Cell interactions; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant - genetics; Gene Regulatory Networks - genetics; Genes; Humanities and Social Sciences; Maintenance; Mathematical models; multidisciplinary; Organs; Plant Roots - cytology; Plant Roots - genetics; Plant Roots - growth & development; Regeneration; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stem cells; Stem Cells - cytology; Stem Cells - metabolism; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcriptome; Ubiquitination - genetics; Ubiquitins - genetics
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13132-2

Stem cells are responsible for generating all of the differentiated cells, tissues, and organs in a multicellular organism and, thus, play a crucial role in cell renewal, regeneration, and organization. A number of stem cell type-specific genes have a known role in stem cell maintenance, identity, and/or division. Yet, how genes expressed across different stem cell types, referred to here as stem-cell-ubiquitous genes, contribute to stem cell regulation is less understood. Here, we find that, in the Arabidopsis root, a stem-cell-ubiquitous gene, TESMIN-LIKE CXC2 (TCX2), controls stem cell division by regulating stem cell-type specific networks. Development of a mathematical model of TCX2 expression allows us to show that TCX2 orchestrates the coordinated division of different stem cell types. Our results highlight that genes expressed across different stem cell types ensure cross-communication among cells, allowing them to divide and develop harmonically together.
Stem-cell-specific genes regulate processes such as maintenance, identity and/or division. Here, the authors show that in the Arabidopsis root TCX2, a gene expressed across different stem cell populations (a stem-cell-ubiquitous gene), controls division and identity by regulating stem-cell-type-specific networks.