Pick a side: Integrating gene expression and mechanical forces to polarize aerial organs

Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2023 Sep 27:102460. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2023.102460. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHow organs acquire their shapes is a central question in developmental biology. In plants, aerial lateral organs such as leaves initiate at the flanks of the growing meristem as dome-shaped primordia. These simple structures then grow out along multiple polarity axes to achieve a dizzying array of final shapes. Many of the hormone signaling pathways and genetic interactions that influence growth along these axes have been identified in the past few decades. Open questions include how and when initial gene expression patterns are set in organ primordia, and how these patterns are translated into the physical outcomes observed at the cellular and tissue levels. In this review, we highlight recent studies into the auxin signaling and gene expression dynamics that govern adaxial-abaxial patterning, and the contributions of mechanical forces to the development of flattened structures.PMID:37775406 | DOI:10.1016/j.pbi.2023.102460

Source: Current Opinion in Plant Biology - September 29, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Sarah G Choudury Aman Y Husbands Source Type: research