Annals of Botany 74: 9-15, 1994
© 1994 Annals of Botany Company
Epidermal Cell Division and the Coordination of Leaf and Tiller Development
Department of Agronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211 USA
Initiation and development of grass leaves and tillers are often described individually with little attention to possible interrelationships among organs. In order to better understand these interrelationships, this research examined epidermal cell division during developmental transitions at the apical meristem of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Ten seedlings were harvested each day for a 9-d period, and lengths of main shoot leaves and primary tillers were measured. In addition, numbers and lengths of epidermal cells were determined for 0·5 mm segments along the basal 3 mm of each leaf and tiller. Primordia development and onset of rapid leaf elongation were characterized by an increase in the number of cells per epidermal file with mean cell length remaining near 20 µm per cell. After the leaf had lengthened to 1-1·5 mm, cells near the leaf tip ceased dividing and increased in length, at which time leaf elongation rate increased rapidly. Ligule formation, marking the boundary between blade and sheath cells, occurred prior to leaf tip emergence above the whorl of older sheaths, while the earliest differentiation between blade and sheath cells probably began when leaves were < 1 mm long. Major transitions in leaf and tiller development appeared to be synchronized among at least three adjacent nodes. At the oldest node, cessation of cell division in the leaf sheath was accompanied by initiation of cell division and elongation in the associated tiller bud. At the next younger node the ligule was being initiated, while at the youngest node cell division commenced in the leaf primordium, as elongation of a new leaf blade began. This synchronization of events suggests a key role for the cell division process in regulating leaf and tiller development.Copyright 1994, 1999 Academic Press
Festuca arundinacea Schreb., tall fescue, cell division, leaf initiation, tillering, ligule development
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  G. D. Berone, F. A. Lattanzi, M. R. Colabelli, and M. G. Agnusdei A Comparative Analysis of the Temperature Response of Leaf Elongation in Bromus stamineus and Lolium perenne Plants in the Field: Intrinsic and Size-mediated Effects Ann. Bot., October 1, 2007; 100(4): 813 - 820. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. ANDRIEU, J. HILLIER, and C. BIRCH Onset of Sheath Extension and Duration of Lamina Extension are Major Determinants of the Response of Maize Lamina Length to Plant Density Ann. Bot., November 1, 2006; 98(5): 1005 - 1016. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. M. Perez-Perez, J. Serrano-Cartagena, and J. L. Micol Genetic Analysis of Natural Variations in the Architecture of Arabidopsis thaliana Vegetative Leaves Genetics, October 1, 2002; 162(2): 893 - 915. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Lafarge and F. Tardieu A model co-ordinating the elongation of all leaves of a sorghum cultivar was applied to both Mediterranean and Sahelian conditions J. Exp. Bot., April 1, 2002; 53(369): 715 - 725. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Muller, M. Reymond, and F. Tardieu The elongation rate at the base of a maize leaf shows an invariant pattern during both the steady-state elongation and the establishment of the elongation zone J. Exp. Bot., June 1, 2001; 52(359): 1259 - 1268. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. Schnyder and R. de Visser Fluxes of Reserve-Derived and Currently Assimilated Carbon and Nitrogen in Perennial Ryegrass Recovering from Defoliation. The Regrowing Tiller and Its Component Functionally Distinct Zones Plant Physiology, April 1, 1999; 119(4): 1423 - 1436. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Granier and F. Tardieu Spatial and Temporal Analyses of Expansion and Cell Cycle in Sunflower Leaves . A Common Pattern of Development for All Zones of a Leaf and Different Leaves of a Plant Plant Physiology, March 1, 1998; 116(3): 991 - 1001. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|