Plant vascular development: from early specification to differentiation

Recent studies inArabidopsis thalianahave identified interconnected signalling networks that regulate plant vascular development. These findings have increased our understanding of vascular development from early cell specification during embryogenesis to the latest stages of differentiation of the phloem and xylem. Vascular tissues in plants are crucial to provide physical support and to transport water, sugars and hormones and other small signalling molecules throughout the plant. Recent genetic and molecular studies have identified interconnections among some of the major signalling networks that regulate plant vascular development. Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system, these studies enable the description of vascular development from the earliest tissue specification events during embryogenesis to the differentiation of phloem and xylem tissues. Moreover, we propose a model for how oriented cell divisions give rise to a three-dimensional vascular bundle within the root meristem.