Pattern formation and morphogenesis require coordination of cell division rates and orientations with developmental signals that specify cell fate. A viable mutation in the TILTED1 locus, which encodes the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase e of Arabidopsis thaliana, causes a lengthening of the cell cycle by ;35% throughout embryo development and alters cell type patterning of the hypophyseal lineage in the root, leading to a displacement of the root pole from its normal position on top of the suspensor. Treatment of preglobular and early globular stages, but not later stage, embryos with the DNA polymerase inhibitor aphidicolin leads to a similar phenotype. The results uncover an interaction between the cell cycle and the processes that determine cell fate during plant embryogenesis.