Future of early embryogenesis studies in Arabidopsis thaliana

Embryogenesis is a long-standing field of interest for plant scientist as recorded in the ‘notes’ of the French Science Academy. This either with fundamental or applied points of view. Since the beginning of the century techniques and questions have co-evolved, from microscope and fate map to laser ablation and cell–cell signalling. So far in plant embryogenesis, a limited use has been made of the whole range of approaches generally available to study development. This is due to technical limitations when working with plant embryos. Novel mutant screens and techniques are now at hand and are expected to unravel further the nature of cell interactions underlying embryo development. This in turn will modify the focus of our questioning.