Publications [#228097] of Philip N. Benfey
search PubMed.Papers Published
- Busch, W; Benfey, PN, Information processing without brains--the power of intercellular regulators in plants.,
Development (Cambridge, England), vol. 137 no. 8
(April, 2010),
pp. 1215-1226 [20332147], [doi] .
(last updated on 2023/10/03)Abstract:
Plants exhibit different developmental strategies than animals; these are characterized by a tight linkage between environmental conditions and development. As plants have neither specialized sensory organs nor a nervous system, intercellular regulators are essential for their development. Recently, major advances have been made in understanding how intercellular regulation is achieved in plants on a molecular level. Plants use a variety of molecules for intercellular regulation: hormones are used as systemic signals that are interpreted at the individual-cell level; receptor peptide-ligand systems regulate local homeostasis; moving transcriptional regulators act in a switch-like manner over small and large distances. Together, these mechanisms coherently coordinate developmental decisions with resource allocation and growth.