Plant regeneration articles from across Nature Portfolio

Feng and Zhang et al. develop a micrografting technique for conifer trees allowing distant relatives to join. Grafting in conifers uses a similar process to that in eudicots, and by introducing a conifer graft regulator to Arabidopsis, grafting and regeneration are enhanced.

Wheat functional genomics is limited by low transformation efficiency. This study uncovered the transcriptional regulatory network responsible for wheat regeneration and identified two DOF transcription factors that can enhance regeneration in wheat.

Molecular and cellular characterization of callus formed from the rice scutellum reveals involvement of an embryo-like developmental program, in contrast to callus formed from the vasculature, which is regulated by genes involved in root organogenesis.

In many plants, only the outermost cells are specified into the epidermis, with underlying mechanisms unknown. Here, the authors show that a key epidermis identity gene is activated in surface cells, via positional cues involving mechanical signals.

Time-lapse imaging of the fern Ceratopteris richardii during meristem initiation and proliferation provides insights into the lineage, identity and division activity of each cell throughout the growth of gametophytes.

A synthetic auxin improves the growth of adventitious roots in various plant species.

Hormone-induced plant regeneration involves acquisition of pluripotency based on auxin–cytokinin crosstalk. A recent study demonstrates the spatial and functional organization of callus cells and the role of pluripotent middle-layer cells in de novo tissue regeneration.

Plant researchers have speculated about the need for mechanisms to lock-down cell fate in late development. In PRC2 mutants, specialized, endoreplicated root hair cells differentiate normally but later revert to an embryo-like state.