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Root apical meristem diversity and the origin of roots: insights from extant lycophytes

  • JPR Symposium
  • Apical Stem Cell(s): Evolutionary Basis for 3D Body Plans in Land Plants
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Abstract

The independent origin of roots in lycophytes and euphyllophytes has been proposed, mainly based on paleobotanical records. However, the question of how roots evolved within these lineages remains unresolved. Root apical meristem (RAM) organization in lycophytes would provide a clue toward understanding the early evolution of roots. Recently, we examined RAM organization in lycophytes (Lycopodiaceae, Isoetaceae, and Selaginellaceae) in terms of cell division activity and anatomy, comparing RAM among vascular plants. Lycophyte RAM exhibited four organization types (I, II, III, and apical); thus, RAM organization in extant lycophytes was more diverse than expected. Type I RAM contained a region with very low cell division frequency, reminiscent of the quiescent center (QC) in seed plant RAM. Although some euphyllophyte RAMs were structurally similar to types II and III and apical cell-type RAM, lycophyte RAM of types II and III had no QC-like area. These results support the paleobotanical predictions that roots evolved several times in lycophytes, as well as in euphyllophytes. In this review, we also introduce recent findings on RAM organization in extant lycophytes and discuss the origin of roots in vascular plants.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant nos. 25870088 and 18K06380 to RF, 24570098 and 18H02495 to TY, and 20570097 to RI) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and a plant research grant from the New Technology Development Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Kyoto University of Education, 1 Fujinomori-cho, Fukakusa, Kyoto, 612-8522, Japan

    Rieko Fujinami

  2. Botanical Gardens, Faculty of Science, Osaka City University, Kisaichi, Katano, Osaka, 576-0004, Japan

    Toshihiro Yamada

  3. Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences, Japan Women’s University, Mejirodai, Tokyo, 112-8681, Japan

    Ryoko Imaichi

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  1. Rieko Fujinami
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  2. Toshihiro Yamada
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Correspondence to Rieko Fujinami.

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Fujinami, R., Yamada, T. & Imaichi, R. Root apical meristem diversity and the origin of roots: insights from extant lycophytes. J Plant Res 133, 291–296 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-020-01167-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-020-01167-2

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