PubMed · 2026-02-20
Scientists discovered how a molecular 'stop signal' from neighboring cells controls which cells in a flowering plant's ovule are allowed to become egg-producing cells. A gene called KLU, working through specific regulatory elements, broadcasts a positional message that keeps the female germline restricted to just the right cells.
KLU-associated regulatory elements (PREs) act as a positional signaling system that actively suppresses female germline identity in non-germline cells of the Arabidopsis ovule
The signaling operates in a neighbor-to-neighbor (non-cell-autonomous) manner, meaning the signal originates outside the cell it affects — a rare and significant mode of germline restriction
Disrupting this KLU-PRE signaling pathway leads to ectopic (misplaced) germline fate specification, confirming KLU's role as a spatial gatekeeper of reproductive cell identity
