Overview of molecular mechanisms of plant leaf development: a systematic review

Zhuo Lv; Wanqi Zhao; Shuxin Kong; Long Li; Shuyan Lin

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1293424

Overview of molecular mechanisms of plant leaf development: a systematic review

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Dec 7:14:1293424. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1293424. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zhuo Lv^{1

2

3}, Wanqi Zhao^{1

2

3}, Shuxin Kong^{1

2

3}, Long Li^{1

2

3}, Shuyan Lin^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.
² Bamboo Research Institute, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.
³ College of Life Science, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

Leaf growth initiates in the peripheral region of the meristem at the apex of the stem, eventually forming flat structures. Leaves are pivotal organs in plants, serving as the primary sites for photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration. Their development is intricately governed by complex regulatory networks. Leaf development encompasses five processes: the leaf primordium initiation, the leaf polarity establishment, leaf size expansion, shaping of leaf, and leaf senescence. The leaf primordia starts from the side of the growth cone at the apex of the stem. Under the precise regulation of a series of genes, the leaf primordia establishes adaxial-abaxial axes, proximal-distal axes and medio-lateral axes polarity, guides the primordia cells to divide and differentiate in a specific direction, and finally develops into leaves of a certain shape and size. Leaf senescence is a kind of programmed cell death that occurs in plants, and as it is the last stage of leaf development. Each of these processes is meticulously coordinated through the intricate interplay among transcriptional regulatory factors, microRNAs, and plant hormones. This review is dedicated to examining the regulatory influences of major regulatory factors and plant hormones on these five developmental aspects of leaves.

Keywords: leaf polarity; leaf primordium; leaf senescence; leaf shape; leaf size.

Publication types

Systematic Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Key Research & Development Program of China (2021YFD2200503); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32371977). We also appreciate all the authors for their valuable works.