WUS — Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary

AT2G17950, known as WUSCHEL (WUS) in Arabidopsis thaliana, encodes a homeobox-containing transcription factor that binds DNA, RNA, and proteins, and localizes to the nucleus and nucleolus. WUS is associated with stem cell proliferation, fate determination, and maintenance, as well as with carpel formation, tissue regeneration, and cell dedifferentiation. It is linked to numerous traits including floral organ number and size, meristem identity, shoot branching, leaf area index, tiller number, fruit diameter, heterosis, and cytokinin content. Phenotypic associations connect WUS to embryonic development, shoot and floral meristem termination, anther development, and stem cell homeostasis. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to fruit size, locule number, and shoot meristem maintenance.