Scanlon was recently awarded a five-year, $1.8 million continuing grant from the NSF’s Plant Genome Research Program to learn more about the fundamental mechanisms that help maize stem cells make the plant’s organs.
His group will use genomic sequencing tools to examine the developmental changes that occur within individual cells. This builds on research Scanlon and his lab have been conducting since the early 2000s, much of which has also been supported by NSF.
Plants continually grow new vegetative structures. During the early stages of development, cells are given a specific function, and they grow in a highly organized manner. “Plant development ultimately proceeds via the differentiation of individual stem cells to comprise mature tissues and organs,” Scanlon said.
All the cells, organs and tissues in the above-ground portions of adult plants exist thanks to a pool of stem cells that live in a structure called the shoot apical meristem (SAM). The SAM generates cells that undergo specific patterns of gene expression as they develop, giving rise to the more complex cells and tissues found in mature plants.
