Work

Analysing growth and development of plants jointly using developmental growth stages

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Plant growth, the increase of organ dimensions over time, and development, the change in plant structure, are often studied as two separate processes. However, there is structural and functional evidence that these two processes are strongly related. The aim of this study was to investigate the co-ordination between growth and development using mango trees, which have well-defined developmental stages. METHODS: Developmental stages, determined in an expert way, and organ sizes, determined from objective measurements, were collected during the vegetative growth and flowering phases of two cultivars of mango, Mangifera indica. For a given cultivar and growth unit type (either vegetative or flowering), a multistage model based on absolute growth rate sequences deduced from the measurements was first built, and then growth stages deduced from the model were compared with developmental stages. KEY RESULTS: Strong matches were obtained between growth stages and developmental stages, leading to a consistent definition of integrative developmental growth stages. The growth stages highlighted growth asynchronisms between two topologically connected organs, namely the vegetative axis and its leaves. CONCLUSIONS: Integrative developmental growth stages emphasize that developmental stages are closely related to organ growth rates. The results are discussed in terms of the possible physiological processes underlying these stages, including plant hydraulics, biomechanics and carbohydrate partitioning.

Source: Annals of Botany

DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcu227

Authors: Anaëlle Dambreville, Pierre-Éric Lauri, Frédéric Normand, Yann Guédon

Institutions: Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Amélioration Génétique et Adaptation des Plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales, Fonctionnement agroécologique et performances des systèmes de culture horticoles

Language: English

Topic: Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: green

Funders: Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Conseil Régional de La Réunion, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development