A Conserved Molecular Framework for Compound Leaf Development
Thomas Blein,1
Amada Pulido,1
Aurélie Vialette-Guiraud,1*
Krisztina Nikovics,1
Halima Morin,1,2
Angela Hay,3
Ida Elisabeth Johansen,4
Miltos Tsiantis,3
Patrick Laufs1
Diversity in leaf shape is produced by alterations of the margin:
for example, deep dissection leads to leaflet formation and
less-pronounced incision results in serrations or lobes. By
combining gene silencing and mutant analyses in four distantly
related eudicot species, we show that reducing the function
of
NAM/
CUC boundary genes (
NO APICAL MERISTEM and
CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON) leads to a suppression of all marginal outgrowths
and to fewer and fused leaflets. We propose that
NAM/CUC genes
promote formation of a boundary domain that delimits leaflets.
This domain has a dual role promoting leaflet separation locally
and leaflet formation at distance. In this manner, boundaries
of compound leaves resemble boundaries functioning during animal
development.
2 Plateforme de Cytologie et d'Imagerie Végétale, Institut Jean Pierre Bourgin, INRA, 78026 Versailles Cedex, France.
3 Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, UK.
4 Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Aarhus, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
* Present address: Laboratoire de Reproduction et Développement des Plantes, UMR INRA-CNRS-Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Université de Lyon I, 46 allée d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France.
Present address: Unité INSERM U552, Institut Universitaire d'Hématologie, Batiment HAYEM, Hôpital Saint Louis, 1, avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: laufs{at}versailles.inra.fr
