Plant trichomes are specialized epidermal protrusions that, depending on species, are located on the surfaces of leaves, stems, petioles, sepals, seed coats, and other aerial organs. Trichomes not only defend plants against biotic and environmental hazard, but also are able to synthesize, store, and secrete a large number of specialized (secondary) metabolites, including those with significant ...

Endoreplication, also called endoreduplication, is a modified cell cycle in which DNA is repeatedly replicated without subsequent cell division. Endoreplication is often associated with increased cell size and specialized cell shapes, but the mechanism coordinating DNA content with shape and size remains obscure. Here we identify the product of the BRANCHLESS TRICHOMES (BLT) gene, a protein of ...

Our understanding of the evolution of organismal diversity is restricted by the current resolution of the genotype-phenotype map. In particular, the genetic basis of environmentally relevant phenotypic variation among natural populations remains poorly understood. Trichomes are single-cell outgrowths on the surface of plant leaves and other above-ground organs. Consistent with trichomes' sugges...

The expression of plant defenses is thought to entail costs (e.g., the allocation of resources away from growth or reproduction) that constrain the evolution of plant genotypes maximally defended against herbivores. Although central to the ecological theory underlying plant-insect interactions at large, the concept of defense costs is particularly evident in agricultural crops where plants may ...

Actin microfilaments form a three-dimensional cytoskeletal network throughout the cell and constitute an essential throughway for organelle and vesicle transport. Development of Arabidopsis trichomes, unicellular structures derived from the epidermis, is being used as a genetic system in which to study actin-dependent growth in plant cells. The present study indicates that filamentous actin (F-...

The highly elongated single-celled cotton fibre consists of lint and fuzz, similar to the Arabidopsis trichome. Endoreduplication is an important determinant in Arabidopsis trichome initiation and morphogenesis. Fibre development is also controlled by functional homologues of Arabidopsis trichome patterning genes, although fibre cells do not have a branched shape like trichomes. The identificat...

Background. To cope with their natural enemies, plants rely on resistance and tolerance as defensive strategies. Evolution of these strategies among natural population can be constrained by the absence of genetic variation or because of the antagonistic genetic correlation (trade-off) between them. Also, since plant defenses are integrated by several traits, it has been suggested that trade-off...

Calothrix rhizosoleniae and Richelia intracellularis are heterocystous cyanobacteria found in the tropical oceans. C. commonly live epiphytically on diatom genera Chaetoceros ( C-C ) Bacteriastrum B-C while R. endosymbiotically within Rhizosolenia R-R ), Guinardia G-R Hemiaulus H-R ); although, they occasionally freely (FL- C FL- R ). Both species have much shorter trichomes than other marine f...

Development requires coordination between cell proliferation and cell growth to pattern the proper size of tissues, organs, and whole organisms. The Drosophila wing has landmark features, such as the location of veins patterned by cell groups and trichome structures produced by individual cells, that are useful to examine the genetic contributions to both tissue and cell size. Wing size and tri...