High impact information on ZLL

• We propose that ZLL relays positional information required to maintain stem cells of the developing shoot meristem in an undifferentiated state during the transition from embryonic development to repetitive postembryonic organ formation [1].
• Conversely, a mutation in ZWILLE/PINHEAD, another member of the Arabidopsis AGO1 gene family, affects development but not PTGS [2].
• This phenotype correlates with a loss of cell number coordination between the two surfaces of the blade, indicating that ectopic PNH can cause changes in cell division rates [3].
• Several pine genes, including the apparent homologs to the Arabidopsis genes ZWILLE, FIDDLEHEAD, FUSCA, and SCARECROW, increased in expression after PEG treatments [4].
• The SHOOT MERISTEMLESS gene is required for maintenance of undifferentiated cells in Arabidopsis shoot and floral meristems and acts at a different regulatory level than the meristem genes WUSCHEL and ZWILLE [5].

Associations of ZLL with chemical compounds

• We addressed whether stem cell maintenance by AGO10 involves regulation of auxin [6].

Biological context of ZLL

• Using specific antibodies against ZLL, we show that the zll phenotype is due to the complete absence of the ZLL protein [7].
• These results also indicate that genes regulating cell division and axis determinacy are likely to be among PNH targets [3].

Other interactions of ZLL

• Mutant and marker gene analyses suggest that during shoot meristem formation, ZLL functions in a similar manner but in a sequential order with its close homologue AGO1, which mediates RNA interference [8].

References