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Leaf development describes the coordinated morphogenesis process by which a leaf is formed, and grows to become a mature photosynthetic organ. It starts from the initiation of a primordium in the shoot meristem, and ends with the fully structured leaf, composed of several cell types such as trichomes, guard cells, epidermal and mesophyll layers, and vascular cells.
Grass ligules comprise the boundary between the leaf base and the photosynthetic blade; their homology has been debated for over 200 years. Cell-specific gene expression analyses suggest that ligules are homologous to the margins of the leaf base.
Arabidopsis H3K9 methyltransferases directly interact with ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 (AS1) and AS2 to repress KNOTTED-LIKE FROM ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA 1 (KNAT1) and KNAT2 in leaf development.
In many plants, only the outermost cells are specified into the epidermis, with underlying mechanisms unknown. Here, the authors show that a key epidermis identity gene is activated in surface cells, via positional cues involving mechanical signals.
The compartmentation of monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis in periwinkle leaves was determined using single-cell RNA-seq, which reveals the spatial distribution of plant specialized metabolism at the single-cell resolution.
The flat structure of a leaf blade enables it to function as a photosynthetic organ for efficient light capture. The leaf rim or the edge-most region of leaf margin directs the planar growth of both leaves and ligules in grasses.
Leaf development follows a common principle but is also flexibly tuned in different species in a spatiotemporal manner. A novel regulatory mechanism controlling leaflet formation has been identified in Medicago.
