SIMURG
apical meristem
EN
n.
A meristem at the tip of a plant shoot or root that causes the shoot or root to increase in length. [...] 1
Permanently embryonic tissue involved in cell division at the apices of plant roots and stems, and forming dynamic regions of growth. These apical meri¬stems, usually consisting of small, densely cytoplasmic cells, become established during embryo development. Thereafter they divide, producing the primary plant body of root and shoot. […]
Root apical meristem is covered by a root cap, a region of parenchymatous, cells which has a protective function and is responsible for perceiving gravitational changes. Root tips have been shown to possess a central region, usually hemispherical, which consists of cells which rarely divide or synthesize deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and have less ribonucleic acid (RNA) and protein than adjacent cells; this region is known as the quiescent center. The cells which divide and give rise to root tissues lie around the periphery of this region. Cells in the quiescent center are regarded as cells that are mitotically young and genetically sound; they can renew the initial cells from time to time. [...] 2
[...] Shoot apical meristem explants were obtained from greenhouse-grown grape plants. [...] 3
[ˈā-pi-kəl ˈmer-ə-ˌstem] 4
Growing tip 5
Apical: from L. apicem, "of or belonging to an apex", 1828, from apex (1601, "summit, peak, tip;" probably related to apere "to fasten, fix," hence "the tip of anything"; one of the meanings in L. was "small rod at the top of the flamen's cap"). 6
Meristem: derived from the Greek word merizein, μερίζω ("to part"; "to apportion", "bestow", "share", or "to disunite", "differ"). Derived also from the Greek word meros, μέρος that is "portion"; "thigh"; "a thigh"; "a division" or "share" (literally or figuratively, in a wide application). 7
Università degli Studi di Genova, Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere, Corso di Laurea per Traduttori e Interpreti.
Chiara Pasquario rev. Gerbaudo
1 : «http://www.thefreedictionary.com/apical+meristem», (15/09/2009)
2 : «http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Apical+meristem», (07/02/2009)
3 : «http://www.fshs.org/Proceedings/Password%20Protected/1994%20Vol.%20107/311-312%20(MEYERSON).pdf», (15/09/2009)
4 : «http://www.merriam-webster.com/», (12/10/2011)
5 : «http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meristem», (15/09/2009)
6 : «http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=apex&searchmode=none», (15/09/2009)
7 : «http://www.myetymology.com/english/meristem.html», (15/09/2009)