Modelling plant stem cells: evolution, development and regeneration

ABSTRACT

In June 2025, The Company of Biologists Workshop ‘Modelling Plant Stem Cells: Evolution, Development and Regeneration’ brought together a diverse group of plant researchers to discuss open questions in plant developmental biology. Expertise ranged from computational modelling, cell biology and developmental genetics to paleontology. All participants shared an interest in understanding the establishment, maintenance and regeneration of plant stem cell niches, how these dictate plant growth and how stem cell niches arose through evolution. This led to fruitful discussions identifying necessary steps to further integrate experimental and computational approaches to speed up the transfer of knowledge from current model species to emerging model species. The discussion covered the evolutionary and practical aspects in the selection of plant model systems, the importance of both generalities and specificities of model systems and methodologies, and the use of computational models as tools to infer developmental mechanisms in emerging research species. The diversity in career stages of participants, the plant species used, and experimental versus computational approaches, created an environment for establishing cross-system and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Here, we present distinct ways to connect experimental and computational approaches, and discuss what is needed to foster hypothesis-driven collaborations, key for the emergence of integrative plant stem cell biology.