Cell Type Specific Whole Genome Approaches to Understand Transcriptional Control of Stem Cell Maintenance

Stem cells located in growing tips, the shoot apical meristems, of plants provide cells for the development of all above-ground plant parts/biomass. The shoot meristem development and function is being studied for nearly a century. However, recent developments in live imaging have provided unprecedented view of growth patterns at cellular and organ level. These studies have revealed that stem cell number control does not involve mechanisms such as asymmetric cell division, cell death and cell migration. Instead the tissue homeostasis is achieved only through regulated cell expansion, cell division and cell displacement. Recent developments in single cell type genomics are augmenting classical genetics experiments in exploring how cells interpret genetic code to regulate stem cell division, growth and differentiation patterns. My lab has developed these methods and combining them with transient gene manipulations to understand the molecular and cellular basis of stem cell homeostasis. I will provide overview of our work on transcriptional mechanisms that underlie stem cell control which has taken us into a new area of dose-dependent regulation of gene expression.