THE FOREVER YOUNG GENE ENCODES AN OXIDOREDUCTASE REQUIRED FOR PROPER DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARABIDOPSIS VEGETATIVE SHOOT APEX

In plant development, leaf primordia are formed on the flanks of the s hoot apical meristem in a highly predictable pattern. The cells that g ive rise to a primordium are sequestered from the apical meristem. Mai ntenance of the meristem requires that these cells be replaced by the addition of new cells. Despite the central role of these activities in development, the mechanism controlling and coordinating them is poorl y understood. These processes have been characterized in the Arabidops is mutant forever young (fey). The fey mutation results in a disruptio n of leaf positioning and meristem maintenance, The predicted FEY prot ein shares significant homology to a nodulin and limited homology to v arious reductases. It is proposed that FEY plays a role in communicati on in the shoot apex through the modification of a factor regulating m eristem development.