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Page 40
Clin Cardiol J Volume 1 | Issue 1
December 04-05, 2017 Dallas, USA
International Conference on
Heart Congress, Vascular Biology and Surgeon’s Meeting
What can we learn from vascular differentiation in plants?
Roni Aloni
Tel Aviv University, Israel
Vascular tissues connect the leaves with the roots and enable a long distance transport of water and nutrition
between the organs. The signals which induce vascular differentiation originate at the tips of young growing
organs: leaves and roots, promoting early patterns of vascular differentiation, first in these peripheral organs.
The vascular-inducing signal of leaves is auxin, which starts to flow from cell to cell by diffusion, induces a
polar auxin transport process, which leads to the canalization of the auxin flow along a narrow file of cells.
These cells become more polarized and more efficient transporters of auxin. The continuous polar transport of
auxin through the canalized cells results in the formation of a vessel. Gradients of auxin along the plant body
induce gradients of vessel sizes; the fast differentiating cells result in the narrowest vessels. This information
allows the physically replacement of an injured vessel by an auxin-induced-regenerated vessel around a wound.
Tumor development in plants demands de novo vascularization. Growing tumors produce the hormonal signal
ethylene, which substantially decreases vessel width in neighboring healthy tissues, giving priority of water
and nutrient supply to the growing tumor. By using plants that are insensitive to ethylene, tumor development
can be eradicated. In this lecture, I will illustrate how the differentiation, regeneration and pattern formation of
vascular tissues are controlled in plants. This general information will likely contribute to better understanding
and practice in vascular tissues of humans.