The end of the reproductive phase in monocarpic plants is determined by a coordinated arrest of all active meristems, a process known as global proliferative arrest (GPA). GPA is linked to the correlative control exerted by developing seeds and, possibly, the establishment of strong source-sink relationships. It has been proposed that the meristems that undergo arrest at the end of the reproductive phase behave at the transcriptomic level as dormant meristems, with low mitotic activity and high expression of abscisic acid response genes. Meristem arrest is also controlled genetically. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the MADS-box transcription factor FRUITFULL induces GPA by directly repressing genes of the APETALA2 (AP2) clade. The AP2 genes maintain shoot apical meristem (SAM) activity in part by keeping WUSCHEL expression active, but the mechanisms downstream of this pathway remain elusive. To identify target genes, we performed a transcriptomic analysis, inducing AP2 activity in meristems close to arrest. Our results suggest that AP2 controls meristem arrest by repressing genes related to axillary bud dormancy in the SAM and negative regulators of cytokinin signaling. In addition, our analysis indicates that genes involved in the response to environmental signals also respond to AP2, suggesting that it could modulate the end of flowering by controlling responses to both endogenous and exogenous signals. Our results support the previous observation that at the end of the reproductive phase the arrested SAM behaves as a dormant meristem, and they strongly support AP2 as a master regulator of this process.

单果植物生殖阶段的结束是由所有活性分生组织的协调停滞决定的，这一过程称为全局增殖停滞（GPA）。 GPA 与发育种子所施加的相关控制有关，并且可能与建立强大的源库关系有关。有人提出，在繁殖期结束时经历停滞的分生组织在转录组水平上表现为休眠分生组织，具有低有丝分裂活性和高表达的脱落酸反应基因。分生组织停滞也是由基因控制的。在拟南芥 ( Arabidopsis thaliana ) 中，MADS-box 转录因子 FRUITFULL 通过直接抑制APETALA2 ( AP2 ) 进化枝的基因来诱导 GPA。 AP2基因部分通过保持WUSCHEL表达活跃来维持茎尖分生组织 (SAM) 活性，但该途径的下游机制仍然难以捉摸。为了识别靶基因，我们进行了转录组分析，诱导接近停滞的分生组织中的 AP2 活性。我们的结果表明，AP2 通过抑制 SAM 中与腋芽休眠相关的基因和细胞分裂素信号传导的负调节因子来控制分生组织停滞。此外，我们的分析表明，参与环境信号响应的基因也会对 AP2 做出响应，这表明它可以通过控制对内源和外源信号的响应来调节开花结束。我们的结果支持了之前的观察结果，即在生殖阶段结束时，停滞的 SAM 表现为休眠分生组织，并且强烈支持 AP2 作为该过程的主要调节者。