We performed large-scale, quantitative analyses of the maize (Zea mays) leaf proteome and phosphoproteome at four developmental stages. Exploiting the developmental gradient of maize leaves, we analyzed protein and phosphoprotein abundance as maize leaves transition from proliferative cell division to differentiation to cell expansion and compared these developing zones to one another and the m...

Functional-structural plant modeling (FSPM) is a fast and dynamic method to predict plant growth under varying environmental conditions. Temperature is a primary factor affecting the rate of plant development. In the present study, we used three different temperature treatments (10/14°C, 18/22°C, and 26/30°C) to test the effect of temperature on growth and development of rapeseed (Brassica napu...

The differentiation of distinct cell types within the leaf is essential for normal plant development. We characterized previously a transposon-induced mutant of maize (bundle sheath defective1) that disrupts the differentiation of a single photosynthetic cell type in the leaf. In this study, we show that this mutation is allelic to golden2 (g2), a lesion first reported 70 years ago. We cloned G...

Leaf architecture determines plant structural integrity, light harvesting, and economic considerations such as plant density. Ligules, junctions at the leaf sheath and blade in grasses, protect stalks from environmental stresses and, in conjunction with auricles, controls leaf angle. Previous studies in mutants have recessive liguleless mutants (lg1 and lg2) and dominant mutations in knotted1-l...

CRISPR-Cas9 technology, which uses an RNA-guided nuclease, has been developed as an efficient and versatile genome-editing method to induce mutations in genes of interest. To examine the feasibility of this method in developmental studies of a model monocot, rice (Oryza sativa), we introduced the construct gDL-1, which produced a guide RNA targeting the DROOPING LEAF (DL) gene. DL regulates mid...

Molecular genetics has been successful in identifying leaf- size regulators such as transcription factors, phytohormones, and signal molecules. Among them, a ROTUNDIFOLIA4-LIKE/DEVIL (RTFL/DVL) family of Arabidopsis, genes encoding peptides with no secretion-signal sequence, is unique in that their overexpressors have a reduced number of leaf cells specifically along the proximodistal axis. How...

Competition for light triggers numerous developmental adaptations known as the "shade-avoidance syndrome" (SAS). Important molecular events underlying specific SAS responses have been identified. However, in natural environments light is often heterogeneous, and it is currently unknown how shading affecting part of a plant leads to local responses. To study this question, we analyzed upwards le...

The role of auxin in controlling leaf expansion remains unclear. Experimental increases to normal auxin levels in expanding leaves have shown conflicting results, with both increases and decreases in leaf growth having been measured. Therefore, the effects of both auxin application and adjustment of endogenous leaf auxin levels on midrib elongation and final leaf size (fresh weight and area) we...

St. Augustinegrass is a widely used turf and pasture grass in the southern US. Raleigh is a cultivar known for superior cold tolerance than other St. Augustinegrass cultivars. However, its coarse-leaf texture and long internodes are undesirable when planted in home lawns. Mutagenesis by gamma ray irradiation was employed to treat node cuttings and calli for inducing semi-dwarf growth phenotype....