Axis formation and polarity in plants.

We have recently gained insight into a number of mechanisms governing the formation of the major axes that define the embryonic and adult plant body plan. Phenotypic analysis and molecular characterization of mutants with aberrant morphogenesis has led to a better understanding of key processes including the generation of the shape of the apical embryo, the establishment and maintenance of the radial pattern of the root, and the placement of lateral organ primordia around the shoot apical meristem.