The study by Romani et al. investigates the transcriptional activity of transcription factor (TF) genes in the vegetative gametophyte meristems of Marchantia polymorpha, a model plant species with a streamlined genome. The authors generated a comprehensive collection of promoter elements derived from Marchantia TF genes and experimentally tested reporter fusions for all these promoters. They systematically analyzed expression patterns in Marchantia gemmae, a vegetative propagule, to build a map of expression domains in early vegetative development. The results identified a set of TF-derived promoters active in the stem-cell zone (SCZ) and provided insights into the dynamic regulation of the gametophytic meristem. The study also revealed that the set of TF reporters found in the SCZ is largely unrelated to those known from the sporophyte meristem of vascular plants, suggesting that the regulatory programs governing meristem organization in bryophytes and embryophytes may be distinct. The authors expect that the promoter elements will be useful for cell-type-specific expression, synthetic biology applications, and functional genomics. The study contributes to our understanding of the evolution of meristem organization and the regulatory networks underlying plant development.The study by Romani et al. investigates the transcriptional activity of transcription factor (TF) genes in the vegetative gametophyte meristems of Marchantia polymorpha, a model plant species with a streamlined genome. The authors generated a comprehensive collection of promoter elements derived from Marchantia TF genes and experimentally tested reporter fusions for all these promoters. They systematically analyzed expression patterns in Marchantia gemmae, a vegetative propagule, to build a map of expression domains in early vegetative development. The results identified a set of TF-derived promoters active in the stem-cell zone (SCZ) and provided insights into the dynamic regulation of the gametophytic meristem. The study also revealed that the set of TF reporters found in the SCZ is largely unrelated to those known from the sporophyte meristem of vascular plants, suggesting that the regulatory programs governing meristem organization in bryophytes and embryophytes may be distinct. The authors expect that the promoter elements will be useful for cell-type-specific expression, synthetic biology applications, and functional genomics. The study contributes to our understanding of the evolution of meristem organization and the regulatory networks underlying plant development.