Expression data from the Arabidopsis root epidermis mutants

The root epidermis of Arabidopsis provides a simple and experimentally useful model for studying the molecular basis of cell fate and differentiation. The goal of this study was to define the transcript changes in the root epidermis of mutants associated with root epidermis cell specification, including mutants that lack a visible phenotypic alteration (try, egl3, myb23, and ttg2). Transcript levels were assessed by purifying populations of root epidermal cells using fluorescence-based cell-sorting with the WER::GFP transgene. These microarray results were used to compare the effects of single and double mutants on the gene regulatory network that controls root epidermal cell fate and differentiation in Arabidopsis. The cells of the developing root epidermis were obtained by growing plant seedlings expressing the WER::GFP transgene under sterile conditions on MS media, cutting off root tips (including all developmental stages), protoplasting the roots, and purifying cells containing GFP using FACS. The WER::GFP transgene is expressed throughout the developing cells of the root epidermis and the lateral root cap. Three biological replicates were analyzed for each of the plant lines examined in this study.