Superoxygen and hydrogen peroxide act as new signals to regulate the maintenance and differentiation of plant stem cells.

Recently, a study by Zhao Zhong of the School of Life Sciences of China University of Science and Technology revealed a new mechanism of plant stem cell regulation, and the results of the study were published in EMBO Journal under the title Redox regulation of plant stem cell fate.
the regulation of stem cell maintenance and differentiation is of great significance to animals or to the growth and development of plants, and once the stem cell function is abnormal, the growth and development of plants and animals will be seriously defective.
, however, the common mechanism for the regulation of plant and animal stem cells is not yet known.
previous studies have reported that hydrogen peroxide play an important role in the regulation of stem cell differentiation in animals.
study shows that superoxygen and hydrogen peroxide act as new signals to regulate the maintenance and differentiation of plant stem cells.
In the plant stem-top spliotic tissue (SAM), superoxygen is mainly in stem cell CZ, while hydrogen peroxide is mainly in differentiated cell PZ, this distribution pattern relies on a series of active oxygen metabolism genes in SAM specific expression patterns, the study found that the vast majority of superoxide amplification enzyme specific in differentiated cell PZ expression and peroxide enzyme expression in stem cell CZ specific expression.
the superoxygen in the CZ region maintains the stability of stem cells by regulating the expression of WUS, an important regulatory gene for plant stem cells, while hydrogen peroxide in the PZ region can promote cell division to regulate differentiation.
addition, the study found that superoxygen and hydrogen peroxide form a balance, antagonize each other, and determine the fate of stem cells by regulating WUS.
the study reveals that the signals of this new stem cell regulation may be conservative in plants and animals, and provides a theoretical basis for studying the regulatory mechanisms of the fate of ROS-mediated stem cells.
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