Axillary meristems (AMs) are located in the leaf axil and can establish new growth axes. Whereas their neighboring cells are differentiated, the undifferentiated cells in the AM endow the AM with the same developmental potential as the shoot apical meristem. The AM is, therefore, an excellent system to study stem cell fate maintenance in plants. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of AM initiation. Recent findings have shown that AMs derive from a stem cell lineage that is maintained in the leaf axil. This review covers AM progenitor cell fate maintenance, reactivation, and meristem establishment. We also highlight recent work that links transcription factors, phytohormones, and epigenetic regulation to AM initiation.

腋生分生组织（AM）位于叶腋中，可以建立新的生长轴。尽管它们的相邻细胞已分化，但AM中未分化的细胞赋予了AM与茎尖分生组织相同的发展潜力。因此，AM是研究植物干细胞命运维持的极佳系统。在这篇综述中，我们总结了AM引发的当前知识。最近的发现表明，AMs来自维持在叶腋中的干细胞谱系。这篇综述涵盖了AM祖细胞的命运维持，重新激活和分生组织的建立。我们还重点介绍了将转录因子，植物激素和表观遗传调控与AM引发联系起来的最新工作。