Heteroblasty—A Review

Virtually all plants show a certain degree of variation among individual metamers during ontogeny. In some cases, however, there are abrupt and substantial changes in form and function (e.g. in leaf form, leaf size, phyllotaxy, internode length, anthocyanin pigmentation, rooting ability, or wood str...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Botanical review 2011-06, Vol.77 (2), p.109-151
Main Authors: Zotz, Gerhard, Wilhelm, Kerstin, Becker, Annette
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anthocyanins
Biological taxonomies
Biological variation
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Botany
Developmental biology
Ecological genetics
Evolution
Flowers & plants
Leaves
Life Sciences
Ontogeny
phyllotaxy
pigmentation
Plant Anatomy/Development
Plant Ecology
Plant morphology
Plant Physiology
Plant Sciences
Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography
Plants
rooting
wood anatomy
Young animals
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Summary:Virtually all plants show a certain degree of variation among individual metamers during ontogeny. In some cases, however, there are abrupt and substantial changes in form and function (e.g. in leaf form, leaf size, phyllotaxy, internode length, anthocyanin pigmentation, rooting ability, or wood structure). These plants were called “heteroblastic” by Karl Goebel more than a century ago, but the functional significance of this type of ontogenetic change, the evolutionary trajectories in different plant groups, even their frequency in the plant kingdom are still unresolved issues. We argue that slow progress is partly due to an on-going terminological confusion and the lack of distinction between other developmental processes such as ontogenetic drift. This review develops a conceptual framework for future scientific work, proposes a quantitative index of heteroblasty, and discusses the evidence for developmental regulation, functional significance, and evolutionary implications of heteroblasty to provide a stimulating basis for further research with this fascinating group of plants.
ISSN:0006-8101
1874-9372
DOI:10.1007/s12229-010-9062-8