Coordination of cell division and differentiation

Abstract

Cell division is a highly regulated process in individual cells. Multicellularity has introduced extra layers of regulatory complexity since maintenance of a strict cellular homeostasis is crucial for proper development. In the case of plants, where organogenesis is a post-embryonic and continuous process, the coordination between cell proliferation and cell differentiation is of primary importance. The last 10 years have witnessed an unprecedented advance in our understanding of cell division and how it integrates with differentiation and development. These studies have benefited enormously from the availability of the full genome sequence of Arabidopsis thaliana and the genomic tools generated. We now face the challenge to integrate the functional relationships of cell cycle regulators into common pathways and to define the complex transcriptional networks that coordinate cell proliferation and cell differentiation during plant development. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.