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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

LeafJ: An ImageJ Plugin for Semi-automated Leaf Shape Measurement

LeafJ: An ImageJ Plugin for Semi-automated Leaf Shape Measurement

Published on: January 21, 2013

How a plant builds leaves.

Siobhan A Braybrook¹, Cris Kuhlemeier

¹Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland.

|April 29, 2010

Summary

This review explores how plant cells communicate to coordinate leaf development. It covers organ formation, positioning, and shaping, highlighting new mathematical and physical approaches.

Area of Science:

Plant Biology
Developmental Biology
Biophysics

Background:

Leaf development involves coordinated cell growth, division, and differentiation.
Understanding cell communication is crucial for explaining organogenesis.
The shoot apical meristem is key to initiating new plant organs.

Purpose of the Study:

To review current knowledge on cellular communication in leaf development.
To explain the processes of organ competence, positioning, and shaping.
To highlight the role of mathematical and physical models.

Main Methods:

Literature review of developmental biology studies.
Analysis of research integrating computational and experimental approaches.
Focus on signaling pathways and gene regulatory networks.

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Assessing Structural Traits in Triticum aestivum and Zea mays for C3 and C4 Photosynthetic Differentiation Using Free-hand and Semi-thin Sections

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Main Results:

Stem cells in the shoot meristem acquire organ-forming competence through specific signaling.
Precise positioning and initiation of leaf primordia are regulated by signaling gradients.
Leaf shape and polarity are established by complex cellular interactions and growth patterns.

Conclusions:

Leaf development is a highly coordinated process driven by intercellular communication.
Mathematical and physical modeling offers powerful new tools to understand leaf morphogenesis.
Further research integrating diverse approaches will advance our understanding of plant organogenesis.