= C. van den Berg
{c}
<C. van den Berg> is the first author of a 1995 study testing positional control of <cell fate> in the <root apical meristem> of <Arabidopsis thaliana>. The team used <laser ablation> to remove selected <biological cells> and observe how neighbouring cells subsequently behaved.<Cell fate in the Arabidopsis root meristem determined by directional signalling by C. van den Berg and others>[Original byline and Abstract: defined-cell ablation]{ref}
The result challenged a simple ancestry-only account of <cell differentiation>. Despite regular <cell lineage> relationships in the <meristem>, position-dependent signals could guide fate, including signalling from more mature cells toward initial cells.<Cell fate in the Arabidopsis root meristem determined by directional signalling by C. van den Berg and others>[Abstract: positional control and signalling direction]{ref}
The motivating distinction is between a cell's family history and its current surroundings. Removing a neighbour changes local context without rewriting the remaining cell's ancestry. Subsequent changes in <cell fate> can therefore test whether developmental identity depends only on descent or also on positional information.
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