Figures
Shaping of a three-dimensional carnivorous trap through modulation of a planar growth mechanism
Leaves display a remarkable range of forms, from flat sheets with simple outlines to cup-shaped traps. While much progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of planar leaf development, it remains unclear whether similar or distinctive mechanisms underlie shape transformations during development of more complex curved forms. This study by Lee et al. uses 3D imaging and cellular and clonal analysis, combined with computational modelling, to analyse the development of cup-shaped traps of the carnivorous plant Utricularia gibba. The study shows that the transformation from a near-spherical form at early developmental stages to an oblate spheroid with a straightened ventral midline in the mature form can be accounted for by spatial variations in rates and orientations of growth. The image shows a U. gibba trap (about 1 mm across) imaged by confocal microscopy about 10 days after initiation; the green areas indicate clones of cells in which expression of green fluorescent protein has been induced by heat-shock (against a red mCherry background).
Image Credit: Karen Lee, Yohei Koide, John Fozard and Claire Bushell
Citation: (2019) PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 17(10) October 2019. PLoS Biol 17(10): ev17.i10. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pbio.v17.i10
Published: October 31, 2019
Copyright: © 2019 . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Leaves display a remarkable range of forms, from flat sheets with simple outlines to cup-shaped traps. While much progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms of planar leaf development, it remains unclear whether similar or distinctive mechanisms underlie shape transformations during development of more complex curved forms. This study by Lee et al. uses 3D imaging and cellular and clonal analysis, combined with computational modelling, to analyse the development of cup-shaped traps of the carnivorous plant Utricularia gibba. The study shows that the transformation from a near-spherical form at early developmental stages to an oblate spheroid with a straightened ventral midline in the mature form can be accounted for by spatial variations in rates and orientations of growth. The image shows a U. gibba trap (about 1 mm across) imaged by confocal microscopy about 10 days after initiation; the green areas indicate clones of cells in which expression of green fluorescent protein has been induced by heat-shock (against a red mCherry background).
Image Credit: Karen Lee, Yohei Koide, John Fozard and Claire Bushell