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Plant cell biology

Shedding light on plant growth

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 9, page 187 (2008)Cite this article

...PIFs function as an integration node for light and GA signalling pathways....

Seedlings undergo alternative developmental programmes depending on whether they germinate in the light (known as photomorphogenesis) or dark (known as etiolated growth). During etiolated growth, the primary organ of extension of the young plant (the hypocotyl) elongates, the first leaves of the embryo (the cotyledons) are small and closed with undifferentiated chloroplasts, and light-regulated genes are repressed. By contrast, during photomorphogenesis, hypocotyl growth is inhibited, whereas cotyledon opening and expansion, chloroplast differentiation and the activation of light-regulated genes are promoted. These processes are also regulated by GAs through a crosstalk mechanism that has long been elusive.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS

  1. de Lucas, M. et al. A molecular framework for light and gibberellin control of cell elongation. Nature 451, 480–484 (2008)

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  2. Feng, S. et al. Coordinated regulation of Arabidopsis thaliana development by light and gibberellins. Nature 451, 475–479 (2008)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Reddy, G. V., Gordon, S. P. & Meyerowitz, E. M. Unravelling developmental dynamics: transient intervention and live imaging in plants. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 8, 491–501 (2007)

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Authors
  1. Francesca Cesari
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Cesari, F. Shedding light on plant growth. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 9, 187 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm2349

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm2349

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