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CRITICAL DIFFERENCE. “All organisms pass through a series of distinct developmental phases during their growth. In higher animals, each phase represents a different episode in the life of a single organism. In higher plants, on the other hand, these developmental phases are episodes in the life of a part of an organism, the shoot apex.” https://lnkd.in/gX3MGs5 View in LinkedIn

LATER ORGAN ELABORATION. “During postembryonic development, the two primary meristems give rise to the elaborate structures of the adult plant.” https://lnkd.in/g8uRjQh View in LinkedIn

BODY PLAN. “Embryogenesis is a critical stage of the sporophytic life cycle during which the basic body plan of the plant is established.” https://lnkd.in/gNvKWa8 View in LinkedIn

EGG TO SEEDLING. “Embryogenesis effects the transition from the fertilized egg to the new multicellular generation, the seedling, which displays the basic body plan and organization of the plant.” https://lnkd.in/g8uRjQh View in LinkedIn

CELL CYCLE REGULATION. “Although plant cell division shares basic mechanisms with all eukaryotes, plants have evolved novel molecules orchestrating the cell cycle. Some regulatory proteins, such as cyclins and inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases, are particularly numerous in plants, possibly reflecting the remarkable ability of plants to modulate their postembryonic development.” https://lnkd.in/gMU_Jac View in LinkedIn

“EMBRYOGENESIS in higher plants, therefore, serves (i) to specify meristems and the shoot-root body pattern, (ii) to differentiate the primary plant tissue types, (iii) to generate a specialized storage organ essential for seed germination and seedling development, and (iv) to enable the sporophyte to lie dormant until conditions are favorable for postembryonic development.” http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2885440.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents View in LinkedIn

HORMONES. “Similar to animal hormones, small endogenous signaling molecules coordinate developmental and physiological processes in plants. As with their animal counterparts, plant hormones act at low concentrations and are often not synthesized where they act.” http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009286740900258X View in LinkedIn

GERM CELL SET-ASIDES. “Imagine a textbook entitled Developmental Biology that focuses entirely on plants, mentioning animals only for their peculiar way of making germ cells by setting aside a group of precursor cells early in the embryo. The converse has been, and still is, common practice.” http://ac.els-cdn.com/0092867495900659/1-s2.0-0092867495900659-main.pdf?_tid=4d4ebb00-9318-11e7-86e1-00000aacb362&acdnat=1504712004_432302d5e397300b77a7d0a78440aca5 View in LinkedIn

BEHAVIOR VERSUS DEVELOPMENT. “Plants and animals have different solutions to the problem of survival in ever-changing and often adverse environments. Whereas animals focus mainly on behavioral responses, such as fighting or running away, plants have a remarkable repertoire of developmental tricks to shape their body and optimize their metabolism to specific environmental demands. This developmental flexibility involves permanent stem cell populations called meristems, de novo organogenesis, a remarkable capacity for regeneration, and directional growth responses to external cues.” https://lnkd.in/gJZZCq8 View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend musing on the differences between animals and plants. Plants are distinguished from animals in a number of ways, but in particular, that where the individual starts and finishes in plants is far from clear. Plants have a distributed body plan that continues to develop during the entire life of the plant. View in LinkedIn