The outer skin of a higher plant consists of a single layer of cells known as the epidermis. The epidermal layer is established during embryogenesis and is formed continually by cell division in meristems in the developing apices of the root and shoot. The epidermis expands by cell division and cell elongation as the plant grows. In addition to the relatively unspecialised epidermal cells, more...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Changes in number of trichomes and in composition and concentrations of their exudates throughout leaf development may have important consequences for plant adaptation to abiotic and biotic factors. In the present study, seasonal changes in leaf trichomes and epicuticular flavonoid aglycones in three Finnish birch taxa (Betula pendula, B. pubescens ssp. pubescens, and B. pub...

Transient transformation is simpler, more efficient and economical in analyzing protein subcellular localization than stable transformation. Fluorescent fusion proteins were often used in transient transformation to follow the in vivo behavior of proteins. Onion epidermis, which has large, living and transparent cells in a monolayer, is suitable to visualize fluorescent fusion proteins. The oft...

Mines or hyponomes are channels caused by larva miners consuming internal plant tissues. These miners live on the leaf and feed from these tissues. Leaf mines are usually visible on the exterior of the leaf as serpentine paths, blotches, or other characteristic shapes of discolored tissues. Morphological and structural modifications undergone by mined leaves of Vismia guianensis (Aubl.) Choisy ...

The rates of transpiration from the upper and lower surfaces of leaves of Gossypium hirsutum, Xanthium strumarium, and Zea mays were compared with the rates at which helium diffused across those leaves. There was no evidence for effects of CO(2) concentration or rate of evaporation on the resistance to water loss from the evaporating surface ("resistance of the mesophyll wall to transpiration")...

Dominant mutations in the maize homeobox gene knotted1 (kn1) act nonautonomously during maize leaf development, indicating that Kn1 is involved in the generation or transmission of a developmental signal that passes from the inner layers of the leaf to epidermal cells. We previously found that this nonautonomous activity is correlated with the presence of KN1 protein in leaf epidermal cells, wh...

In leaves, the transpirational flux of water exits the veins as liquid and travels toward the stomata in both the vapor and liquid phases before exiting the leaf as vapor. Yet, whether most of the evaporation occurs from the vascular bundles (perivascular), from the photosynthetic mesophyll cells, or within the vicinity of the stomatal pore (peristomatal) remains in dispute. Here, a onedimensio...

Two types of segments (intact leaf tissue and isolated mesophyll tissue respectively) were isolated from basal (still growing) and tip (non-growing) maize leaf regions. The leaf segments were exposed to different light qualities (blue or red light) and quantities, and net fluxes of K+, Ca2+ and H+ were measured non-invasively using ion-selective vibrating microelectrodes (the MIFE technique). A...

In leaves, the transpirational flux of water exits the veins as liquid and travels toward the stomata in both the vapor and liquid phases before exiting the leaf as vapor. Yet, whether most of the evaporation occurs from the vascular bundles (perivascular), from the photosynthetic mesophyll cells, or within the vicinity of the stomatal pore (peristomatal) remains in dispute. Here, a one-dimensi...

Studies on the anatomy of Piper leaves demonstrate the presence of a subepidermal tissue distinct from the adjacent epidermis, which cells show thin walls and hyaline contents. Some authors consider such cells a hypodermal tissue, while others refer to them as components of a multiple epidermis. In this study, the nature of this subepidermal tissue was investigated through the analysis of leaf ...