Screening of genes associated with dedifferentiation and effect of LBD29 on pericycle cells in Arabidopsis thaliana

Dedifferentiation is an important cellular process in plant development. Successful in vitro culture of plant tissues for micropropagation and transgenic plant development depend on dedifferentiation and redifferentiation of explants. However, the molecular basis of dedifferentiation is not well understood. To elucidate the dedifferentiation mechanism, microarray analysis was carried out to study the transcriptome changes associated with dedifferentiation in the petiole of Arabidopsis thaliana. Analysis of global gene expression profiles allowed us to identify key developmental genes that showed differential expression during the dedifferentiation process. LBD29 was selected as one of the candidate genes that regulate the process of lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. The role of the LBD29/ASL16 gene in effecting dedifferentiation of pericycle cells and lateral root formation is discussed.