The Role of Meristematic Activities in the Formation of Leaf Blades

Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Leaf primordia also have their own meristematic regions and meristematic activity is maintained in part of the leaf blade, in some case, even after maturation. Transgenic plants have been generated that have proved to be useful tools in the analysis of the behavior of meristematic regions in leaf blades of A. thaliana. This review, based on our present understanding of molecular mechanisms for the maintenance and development of shoot apical meristems in A. thaliana, summarizes the variations in patterns and functions of meristematic regions in leaf blades focusing, in particular, on the case of indeterminate leaves. Received 5 April 2000/ Accepted in revised form 12 April 2000