CELLULAR-DIFFERENTIATION REGULATED BY GIBBERELLIN IN THE ARABIDOPSIS-THALIANA PICKLE MUTANT

The plant growth regulator gibberellin (GA) has a profound effect on s hoot development and promotes developmental transitions such as flower ing. Little is known about any analogous effect GA might have on root development. In a screen for mutants, Arabidopsis plants carrying a mu tation designated pickle (pkl) were isolated in which the primary root meristem retained characteristics of embryonic tissue. Expression of this aberrant differentiation state was suppressed by GA. Root tissue from plants carrying the pkl mutation spontaneously regenerated new em bryos and plants.