Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 May;134(3):373-401.
doi: 10.1007/s10265-020-01247-3. Epub 2021 Feb 7.

Phyllotaxis: from classical knowledge to molecular genetics

Xiaofeng Yin  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Phyllotaxis: from classical knowledge to molecular genetics

Xiaofeng Yin. J Plant Res. 2021 May.

Abstract

Plant organs are repetitively generated at the shoot apical meristem (SAM) in recognizable patterns. This phenomenon, known as phyllotaxis, has long fascinated scientists from different disciplines. While we have an enriched body of knowledge on phyllotactic patterns, parameters, and transitions, only in the past 20 years, however, have we started to identify genes and elucidate genetic pathways that involved in phyllotaxis. In this review, I first summarize the classical knowledge of phyllotaxis from a morphological perspective. I then discuss recent advances in the regulation of phyllotaxis, from a molecular genetics perspective. I show that the morphological beauty of phyllotaxis we appreciate is the manifestation of many regulators, in addition to the critical role of auxin as a patterning signal, exerting their respective effects in a coordinated fashion either directly or indirectly in the SAM.

Keywords: Auxin; Divergence angle; Pattern formation; Phyllotaxis; Plastochron; Shoot apical meristem (SAM).

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abe K, Osakabe K, Ishikawa Y, Tagiri A, Yamanouchi H, Takyuu T, Yoshioka T, Ito T, Kobayashi M, Shinozaki K, Ichikawa H, Toki S (2009) Inefficient double-strand DNA break repair is associated with increased fasciation in Arabidopsis BRCA2 mutants. J Exp Bot 60:2751–2761 - PubMed - PMC
    1. Abley K, Sauret-Gueto S, Maree AF, Coen E (2016) Formation of polarity convergences underlying shoot outgrowths. Elife 5:e18165 - PubMed - PMC
    1. Adler I (1974) A model of contact pressure in phyllotaxis. J Theor Biol 45:1–79 - PubMed
    1. Adler I, Barabé D, Jean RV (1997) A history of the study of phyllotaxis. Ann Bot 80:231–244
    1. Aida M, Ishida T, Tasaka M (1999) Shoot apical meristem and cotyledon formation during Arabidopsis embryogenesis: interaction among the CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON and SHOOT MERISTEMLESS genes. Development 126:1563–1570 - PubMed

Substances

LinkOut - more resources