Researchers have discovered that two proteins, which are involved in the control of stem cells’ division in plant roots, need each other for these cells to function properly. The study combines experimental work with plants and mathematical modeling. The mechanism provides knowledge that could be useful, for agriculture and for the design of efficient strategies in medicine and cosmetics that slow down cellular aging.

In the same way that the proteins BRAVO and WOX5 need each other to function properly, this discovery could not have been possible without uniting the knowledge and the academic disciplines provided by both research teams: the biochemistry, genetics and cellular biology, on one hand, and the mathematical modelling, on the other.

«Previous work from my team and others had demonstrated that the loss of either one of the proteins, BRAVO or WOX5, produced the root stem cells division. However, their molecular connection was not yet understood,» explains Ana I. Cano Delgado.

«In general, genetic regulations involve a complexity that is often not intuitive and that can only be understood through mathematical models and computer simulations. The mathematical models we have created have made it possible to make sense of the amount of data gathered by the CRAG team,» adds Marta Ibanes, researcher at the UB Institute of Complex Systems.

These new mathematical models will allow now the in silico experimentation, creating hypothetical situations that may happen at the root’s stem cells, such as the effect of applying hormones or the possible responses during stress situations.

The quiescent centre: a reservoir of stem cells

Plants have a set of stem cells in the tip of the primary root that gives them the ability to grow indefinitely. The majority of these cells divide at a fast pace, creating other stem cells and the different cells that form the root’s tissues, like the epidermis or the vascular tissue. However, at one end of this niche there are a few stem cells that divide at a slower pace; this is why, the area they occupy is called «quiescent centre.»

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