inflorescence stem fibers of Arabidopsis thaliana Revoluta (ifl1) mutant

• Published in: Journal of plant growth regulation 2004-12, Vol.23 (4), p.301-306
• Main Authors: Lev-Yadun, S, Wyatt, S.E, Flaishman, M.A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arabidopsis thaliana; developmental stages; genetic variation; histology; inflorescences; mutants; plant development; plant fibers; plant growth; stems; wood anatomy
• ISSN: 0721-7595; 1435-8107
• DOI: 10.1007/s00344-004-0024-4

Arabidopsis thaliana is gradually gaining significance as a model for wood and fiber formation. revolute/ifl1 is an important mutant in this respect. To better characterize the fiber system of the revolute/ifl1 mutant, we grew plants of two alleles (rev-9 in Israel and rev-1 in the USA) and examined the fiber system of the inflorescence stems using both brightfield and polarized light. Microscopic examination of sections of plants belonging to the two different alleles clearly revealed that, contrary to previous views, in 18 (13 in Israel and 5 in Ohio) out of 30 stems (20 in Israel and 10 in Ohio) the mutant produced the primary wavy fiber system of the inflorescence stems. Our findings are further supported by the fact that fibers are seen in the figures published in other studies of the mutant even when it was stated that there were no fibers. The impression of a total lack of the wavy band of fibers is in many cases just a result of poorly lignified secondary walls. This specific gene that reduces lignification in fibers is of great significance for biotechnological developments for the paper industry and thus for the global economy and ecology. We propose that revoluta, the first name given to this mutant (Talbert and others 1995), is more appropriate than ifl1.