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Science 19 December 2008:
Vol. 322. no. 5909, pp. 1835 - 1839
DOI: 10.1126/science.1166168
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Reports

A Conserved Molecular Framework for Compound Leaf Development

Thomas Blein,1 Amada Pulido,1 Aurélie Vialette-Guiraud,1* Krisztina Nikovics,1{dagger} Halima Morin,1,2 Angela Hay,3 Ida Elisabeth Johansen,4 Miltos Tsiantis,3 Patrick Laufs1{ddagger}

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.

1 Laboratoire de Biologie Cellulaire, Institut Jean Pierre Bourgin, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), 78026 Versailles Cedex, France.
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.

{dagger} Present address: Unité INSERM U552, Institut Universitaire d'Hématologie, Batiment HAYEM, Hôpital Saint Louis, 1, avenue Claude Vellefaux, 75475 Paris Cedex 10, France.

{ddagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: laufs{at}versailles.inra.fr

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)