* Here, a new approach to macromolecular imaging of leaf tissue using a multichannel focal plane array (FPA) infrared detector was compared with the proven method of infrared mapping with a synchrotron source, using transverse sections of leaves from a species of Eucalyptus. * A new histological method was developed, ideally suited to infrared spectroscopic analysis of leaf tissue. Spatial reso...

This study investigates the functional significance of heterophylly in Ginkgo biloba, where leaves borne on short shoots are ontogenetically distinct from those on long shoots. Short shoots are compact, with minimal internodal elongation; their leaves are supplied with water through mature branches. Long shoots extend the canopy and have significant internodal elongation; their expanding leaves...

1. Equal masses of sister leaves of Bryophyllum calycinum produce equal masses of shoots and roots in equal time and under equal conditions. 2. The mass of shoots and roots produced by different masses of sister leaves in equal time and under equal conditions is approximately in direct proportion to the masses of the leaves. 3. When a piece of stem inhibits the production of shoots and roots in...

In recent years, many genes have been identified that are involved in the developmental processes of leaf morphogenesis. Here, I review the mechanisms of leaf shape control in a model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, focusing on genes that fulfill special roles in leaf development. The lateral, two-dimensional expansion of leaf blades is highly dependent on the determination of the dorsoventrality ...

Kacelnikl proposes a puzzle for optimal foraging theorists, arising from experiments of Races and Nutiez2, who found that leaf-cutting ant (Acromyrmex lundi) workers changed their behavior in response to foragmg-quality information that was only known to scouts. The workers cut and transferred smaller pieces of parafilm when the scouts had been exposed to a 10% sugar solution than when they wer...

Leaves are ideal model systems to study the organ size regulation of multicellular plants. Leaf cell number and cell size are determinant factors of leaf size which is controlled through cell proliferation and post-mitotic cell expansion, respectively. To achieve a proper leaf size, cell proliferation and post-mitotic cell expansion should be co-ordinated during leaf morphogenesis. Compensation...

Plant stoichiometry in relation to the structure and function of biological systems has been investigated at multiple scales. However, few studies have focused on the roles of stoichiometry for a given species. In this study, we determined leaf N and P stoichiometry, leaf shape and plant size in three Quercus acutissima common gardens with different climatic and site conditions. In the three co...

Advanced lines of Pima cotton {Gossypium barbadense L.) bred for higher yield potential and heat resistance have higher stomatal conductance and smaller leaf areas than those of obsolete !ines. In controlled experiments, five commercial lines of Pima cotton having increasing lint yield and heat resistance showed a gradient of increasing stomatal conductance and decreasing leaf size. In field ex...

Eriocnema fulva Naudin is an endangered herbaceous, perennial, iteroparous, evergreen species geographically restricted to southeastern-center Minas Gerais State, SE Brazil. The individuals occur as patches on rocky riverbanks shaded by seasonal semideciduous Atlantic forest; they are fixed by roots and have a pending stem. Aiming to investigate leaf development and its importance for individua...

To unravel the functions of cell wall and vacuolar invertases in carrot, we used an antisense technique to generate transgenic carrot plants with reduced enzyme activity. Phenotypic alterations appeared at very early stages of development; indeed, the morphology of cotyledon-stage embryos was markedly changed. At the stage at which control plantlets had two to three leaves and one primary root,...