Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41325131›Full record

ArticleJournal of experimental botany2026

NUTCRACKER orchestrates cortical cell divisions and sustains stem cell niche integrity in the rice root meristem.

Gwendolyn K Kirschner, Paula Oyarce, Junyue Yao, Fatimah Aljedaani, Haroon Butt, Wouter Smet, Magdy Mahfouz, Ikram Blilou

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of experimental botany, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Gwendolyn K KirschnerPlant Science Program. Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0002-3088-0315
Paula OyarcePlant Science Program. Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Junyue YaoPlant Science Program. Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
Fatimah AljedaaniPlant Science Program. Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0003-1736-927X
Haroon ButtLaboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0001-6935-8025
Wouter SmetPlant Science Program. Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0002-8000-3097
Magdy MahfouzLaboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0002-0616-6365
Ikram BlilouPlant Science Program. Laboratory of Plant Cell and Developmental Biology, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0001-8003-3782

Funding

KAUST Competitive Research Grants
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In Arabidopsis thaliana, BIRD nuclear factors, also known as the INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) protein family, regulate asymmetric cell division and tissue patterning in the root meristem. The BIRD protein JACKDAW (JKD) forms a regulatory complex with the GRAS transcription factors SHORT-ROOT (SHR) and SCARECROW (SCR) to maintain the stem cell niche and stabilize tissue boundaries. While BIRD protein functions are well characterized in Arabidopsis, their role in other plant species remains unclear. Here, we show that in rice, the JKD ortholog NUTCRACKER (NUC) restricts cell division in the root meristem. nuc knockout mutants display ectopic divisions in the ground tissue and vasculature, a loss of quiescence in the quiescent center, and premature differentiation of columella stem cells. NUC associates with SHR and SCR and regulates the expression of SCR and QUIESCENT CENTER-SPECIFIC HOMEOBOX (QHB/WOX5). NUC is expressed in the ground tissue and exodermis and complements the nuc mutant when driven by its native promoter. These findings reveal a role for the BIRD protein NUC in controlling cell division and maintaining the stem cell niche in the rice root meristem.

Indexed as

Cell DivisionMeristemOryzaPlant ProteinsStem Cell NicheGene Expression Regulation, PlantPlant RootsTranscription FactorsPlant ProteinsTranscription FactorsAsymmetric cell divisionBIRD proteinsCRISPR/Cas9ground tissueNUTCRACKEROryza sativaquiescent centerriceroot meristem

Identifiers

PMID41325131
PMCPMC13080353

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.