ArticleMolecular biology and evolution2017
Two-Step Functional Innovation of the Stem-Cell Factors WUS/WOX5 during Plant Evolution.
Article in Molecular biology and evolution, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
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34 citing papers in PubMed, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rational design of induced regeneration via somatic embryogenesis in the absence of exogenous phytohormones.The Plant cell · 2025Article
- The pan genome analysis ofHorticulture research · 2025Article
- From root to embryogenic transition: WOX5 reprograms plant somatic cells via auxin-mediated pathways.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
- Plant Signaling Hormones and Transcription Factors: Key Regulators of Plant Responses to Growth, Development, and Stress.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Transcriptome-wide identification and characterization of WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) gene family in Pinus yunnanensis.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Plant Growth Regulators: An Overview of WOX Gene Family.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Genome-Wide Analysis of the WOX Family and Its Expression Pattern in Root Development ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Exogenous Melatonin Application Accelerated the Healing Process of Oriental Melon Grafted onto Squash by Promoting Lignin Accumulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Review
- Regulation of root growth and elongation in wheat.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Review
- Genome-wide analysis of theFrontiers in plant science · 2024Article
- OptimisedGenes · 2023Article
- Cell Division and Meristem Dynamics in Fern Gametophytes.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Multifaceted roles of transcription factors during plant embryogenesis.Frontiers in plant science · 2023Review
- Overexpression of thePlant signaling & behavior · 2022Article
- Cellular and gene expression patterns associated with root bifurcation in Selaginella.Plant physiology · 2022Article
- Molecular studies of cellulose synthase supercomplex from cotton fiber reveal its unique biochemical properties.Science China. Life sciences · 2022Article
- Evolution of meristem zonation by CLE gene duplication in land plants.Nature plants · 2022Review
- Autophagy-Mediated Regulation of Different Meristems in Plants.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Vascular function of the T3/modern clade WUSCHEL-Related HOMEOBOX transcription factor genes predate apical meristem-maintenance function.BMC plant biology · 2022Article
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5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
WUS and WOX5, which are expressed, respectively, in the organizing center (OC) and the quiescent center (QC), are essential for shoot/root apical stem-cell maintenance in flowering plants. However, little is known about how these stem-cell factors evolved their functions in flowering plants. Here, we show that the WUS/WOX5 proteins acquired two distinct capabilities by a two-step functional innovation process in the course of plant evolution. The first-step is the apical stem-cell maintenance activity of WUS/WOX5, which originated in the common ancestor of ferns and seed plants, as evidenced by the interspecies complementation experiments, showing that ectopic expression of fern Ceratopteris richardii WUS-like (CrWUL) surrounding OC/QC, or exclusive OC-/QC-expressed gymnosperms/angiosperms WUS/WOX5 in Arabidopsis wus-1 and wox5-1 mutants, could rescue their phenotypes. The second-step is the intercellular mobility that emerged in the common ancestor of seed plants after divergence from the ferns. Evidence for this includes confocal imaging of GFP fusion proteins, showing that WUS/WOX5 from seed plants, rather than from the fern CrWUL, can migrate into cells adjacent to the OC/QC. Evolutionary analysis showed that the WUS-like gene was duplicated into two copies prior to the divergence of gymnosperms/angiosperms. Then the two gene copies (WUS and WOX5) have undergone similar levels of purifying selection, which is consistent with their conserved functions in angiosperm shoot/root stem-cell maintenance and floral organ formation. Our results highlight the critical roles and the essential prerequisites that the two-step functional innovation of these genes performs and represents in the origin of flowering plants.
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