This review highlights how cereal-specific meristems, such as those in sorghum, contribute to complex plant architectures and offer new targets for crop improvement through advanced genomic tools.
Keywords: Brachypodium distachyon, barley, domestication, embryogenesis, germline, inflorescence, maize, meristem, stem cell
This recent review in The Plant Cell offers a comprehensive synthesis of how meristems-plant tissues that generate new cells- determine the architecture of cereal crops, with implications for productivity, adaptability, and crop improvement. While most foundational knowledge of meristem biology stems from studies in Arabidopsis, the article emphasizes the distinct complexity of meristem systems in cereals such as sorghum, maize, rice, barley, and wheat. Sorghum, in particular, features unique root and inflorescence meristems that contribute to its resilience under drought and nutrient stress, making it a key model for understanding how grass-specific meristem types evolved and function. The review highlights how cereal-specific meristems like the shoot-borne crown roots and intercalary meristems not only distinguish grasses from eudicots but also offer opportunities to manipulate traits like plant height, root architecture, and tillering.
Importantly, the authors point to emerging technologies, such as single-cell RNA sequencing and CRISPR-based gene editing, that are beginning to unlock the gene regulatory networks controlling these specialized meristems. These tools are particularly promising for crops like sorghum, where inflorescence complexity and root system architecture directly impact grain yield and stress tolerance. The review underscores that while core regulators such as WUSCHEL and CLAVATA are broadly conserved, cereal crops show significant diversification in their meristem signaling pathways. As meristem biology in cereals becomes better understood, researchers and breeders will gain powerful new tools to sculpt plant form and optimize cereal crops like sorghum for future agricultural demands.
SorghumBase examples:
Reference:
Dresselhaus T, Balboni M, Berg L, Dolata A, Hochholdinger F, Huang Y, Jiang G, von Korff M, Ku JC, van der Linde K, Maika J, Mondragon CL, Raissig M, Schnittger A, Schnurbusch T, Simon R, Stahl Y, Timmermans M, Thirulogachandar V, Zhao S, Zhou Y. How meristems shape plant architecture in cereals. Plant Cell. 2025 Jun 20:koaf150. PMID: 40578304. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koaf150. Read more