Kinematic analysis of cell division and expansion

Plant growth is readily analysed at the macroscopic level by measuring size and/or mass. Although it is commonly known that the rate of growth is determined by cell division and subsequent cell expansion, relatively few studies describing growth phenotypes include studies of the dynamics of these processes. Kinematic analyses provide a powerful and rigorous framework to perform such studies and have been adapted to the specific characteristics of various plant organs. Here we describe in detail how to perform these analyses in root tips and leaves of the model species Arabidopsis thaliana and in the leaves of the monocotyledonous crop species, Zea mays. These methods can be readily used and adapted to suit other species in most laboratories.