Wildflower cells reveal mystery of leaf's structure

The cells that form the internal structure of leaves start out as small spheres. The cells take on new shapes as the leaf gets bigger. The leaf's structure is still intact.

A group of researchers has figured out how this happens. It answers questions that have puzzled the plant world, but it could also lead to the manufacturing of energy- producing materials. The results of their work can be found in the journal.

The mesophyll is a network of cells in the middle of the leaves. In this process, carbon dioxide comes up through the bottom of the leaf and sunlight comes in through the top. The cells in this layer are tightly packed together. The light and carbon dioxide can't interact if the cells stay the same. The cells are loosened up to make room for the sun to shine. Why doesn't the leaf fall apart?

O'Hern said that the mesophyll is able to develop into a porous material and retain its properties. The leaf needs to create a labyrinthian structure of air space in order to allow CO 2 to diffuse.

O'Hern and the other researchers used confocal microscopy to understand the process of leaf development.

O'Hern said they created a model to describe the shapes of individual cells. We pulled the tissue on all sides to model the development of the mesophyll.

The studies included measuring the shapes of all cells and how much of the material is made up of cells and how much is made up of air. The researchers looked at the course of the cells' development from early to late stages and observed how the cells change shape.

The cells spreading out kept the leaf's structure. The cells in the mesophyll are pushing outward, while the tissue in the leaf keeps it inside.

The plant they looked at was called the thale cress. The fruit fly of plants is useful for experimentation. The genes of the plant are well known.

The researchers plan to apply their model to other plant species to see if it can affect the diversity of the structure. They would like to use what they've learned to create artificial plant tissue.

"If we can understand how plants are so efficient at photosynthesis, and understand the self-assembly of leaf mesophyll, we might be able to create similar photosynthetic materials in the lab."

The Journal of The Royal Society Interface has more information. There is a DOI titled " 10.1098/rsif.2022.0602".

Journal information: Journal of the Royal Society Interface

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