Abstract
Organ size depends on the number and size of cells in all multicellular organisms. However, some rules in organ-wide integration system differ between animals, in which organ size is strictly controlled, and plants. These differences are strongly suggested by two mysterious phenomena: compensation and high-ploidy syndromes. Compensation is characterized by enhanced cell enlargement that is triggered by a significant decrease in cell proliferation activity; high-ploidy syndrome is a phenomenon in which plants with ploidy higher than 8C have an increased cell volume, but smaller leaves. The detailed mechanisms behind these phenomena are still unknown. The resolution of these phenomena should provide several important clues to understanding the mechanisms of multicellular organogenesis. We will introduce our present models on these mechanisms deduced from analyses of Arabidopsis mutants and tetraploids.
Tsukaya H. (2008) PLoS Biology 6: 1373-1376
