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Title Integrated analysis of stem cell function in plant growth and development  
   
Acronym Plant Stem Cell Network
   
Duration 1 November 2007 - 1 November 2010
   
Project leader James Murray, Cardiff University, UK
   

Other project participants

 Yrjö Helariutta, University of Helsinki, Finland
Thomas Laux, University of Freiburg, Germany
Ben Scheres, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Aurélio Campilho, University of Porto, Portugal
  
Funding The Academy of Finland (AKA), Finland 
  The German Research Foundation (DFG), Germany  
  Netherlands Genomics Initiative / Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NGI/NWO), The Netherlands
  Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal
  Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), UK
   
Total granted budget  € 2,020,953
   
Abstract  

Stem cells are essential to the growth and development of plants and provide the ultimate origin of all agriculture and forestry. Although some key genes required for the establishment and maintenance of stem cells are identified, we lack information on the networks governing cell differentiation and cell cycle of different stem cell populations, on how these mechanisms determine common and specific behaviours of the different stem cell groups and how they integrate stem cell activity with changing environmental
conditions.
This proposal integrates the work of world-leading labs that perform key research on stem cell populations of the shoot, root and vascular meristems, cell cycle control, growth modelling and image analysis. Europe has a global lead in plant stem cell research and cell division control, and this proposal
will integrate the research of the different labs involved, creating new synergies and substantial added value. New tools and strategies combining genomics, reverse genetics, smart genetic screens, and novel
cell biology will be exploited to address the key issue of how specification of stem cell regions by transcription factors translates to cellular mechanisms for division and differentiation and identify common and distinct regulatory networks in different stem cell populations.