AUTHOR=Chen Chen , Du Xinglin 

TITLE=LEAFY COTYLEDONs: Connecting different stages of plant development

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.916831

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.916831

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The life of higher plants progresses successively through embryonic, juvenile, adult, and reproductive stages. <italic>LEAFY COTYLEDON</italic> (<italic>LEC</italic>) transcription factors, first discovered in <italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</italic> several decades ago, play a key role in regulating plant embryonic development, seed maturation, and subsequent growth. Existing studies have demonstrated that <italic>LECs</italic> together with other transcription factors form a huge and complex regulatory network to regulate many aspects of plant growth and development and respond to environmental stresses. Here, we focus on the role that has received little attention about the <italic>LECs</italic> linking different developmental stages and generational cycles in plants. We summarize the current fragmented research progress on the <italic>LECs</italic> role and molecular mechanism in connecting embryonic and vegetative growth periods and the reproductive stage. Furthermore, the possibility of <italic>LECs</italic> controlling the maintenance and transition of plant growth stages through epigenetic modifications is discussed.</p>