Cauliflower fractal forms arise from perturbations of floral gene networks

Throughout development, plant meristems regularly produce organs in defined spiral, opposite, or whorl patterns. Cauliflowers present an unusual organ arrangement with a multitude of spirals nested over a wide range of scales. How such a fractal, self-similar organization emerges from developmental...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2021-07, Vol.373 (6551), p.192-197
Main Authors: Azpeitia, Eugenio, Tichtinsky, Gabrielle, Le Masson, Marie, Serrano-Mislata, Antonio, Lucas, Jérémy, Gregis, Veronica, Gimenez, Carlos, Prunet, Nathanaël, Farcot, Etienne, Kater, Martin M, Bradley, Desmond, Madueño, Francisco, Godin, Christophe, Parcy, Francois
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arabidopsis - anatomy & histology
Arabidopsis - genetics
Arabidopsis - growth & development
Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics
Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
Botanics
Brassica - anatomy & histology
Brassica - genetics
Brassica - growth & development
Conical bodies
Development Biology
Developmental Programs
Elongation
Flowers
Flowers - anatomy & histology
Flowers - genetics
Flowers - growth & development
Fractals
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Gene regulation
Gene Regulatory Networks
Genes, Plant
Inflorescence - anatomy & histology
Inflorescence - genetics
Inflorescence - growth & development
Life Sciences
Meristem - growth & development
Meristems
Modelling
Models, Biological
Morphogenesis
Mutation
Organogenesis
Perturbation
Phenotype
Plant Proteins - genetics
Plant Proteins - metabolism
Self-similarity
Spirals
Transcriptome
Vegetal Biology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Throughout development, plant meristems regularly produce organs in defined spiral, opposite, or whorl patterns. Cauliflowers present an unusual organ arrangement with a multitude of spirals nested over a wide range of scales. How such a fractal, self-similar organization emerges from developmental mechanisms has remained elusive. Combining experimental analyses in an cauliflower-like mutant with modeling, we found that curd self-similarity arises because the meristems fail to form flowers but keep the "memory" of their transient passage in a floral state. Additional mutations affecting meristem growth can induce the production of conical structures reminiscent of the conspicuous fractal Romanesco shape. This study reveals how fractal-like forms may emerge from the combination of key, defined perturbations of floral developmental programs and growth dynamics.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.abg5999