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Developmental stochasticity and variation in floral phyllotaxis.

Miho S Kitazawa¹

¹Center for Education in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Osaka University, 1-16 Machikaneyama-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan. kitazawa@celas.osaka-u.ac.jp.

Journal of Plant Research

|April 6, 2021

Summary

Floral phyllotaxis exhibits variability due to molecular stochasticity and developmental flexibility. This variation, including pattern transitions and organ arrangement changes, contributes to the diversity of angiosperm flowers.

Keywords:

Evo-Devo Floral development Floral phyllotaxis Stochasticity Variation

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Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Plant morphology
Evolutionary botany

Background:

Floral phyllotaxis, the arrangement of floral organs, is generally robust but shows variability in certain angiosperm clades.
Understanding the causes of this variability and its contribution to floral diversity is crucial for evolutionary studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To explore the causes of variability in floral phyllotaxis.
To investigate how floral phyllotaxis variation contributes to floral diversity in angiosperms.

Main Methods:

Review of recent studies on molecular and cellular stochasticity in plant development.
Analysis of research on vegetative and inflorescence phyllotaxis variability.
Examination of computer models simulating phyllotactic pattern formation.

Main Results:

Molecular and cellular stochasticity, while often dampened, is essential for plant development and can influence phyllotaxis.
Plants exhibit phenotypic flexibility in phyllotaxis, including fluctuations, pattern transitions, and irregular organ arrangements (permutation).
Stochasticity plays a role in pattern transitions and irregularities, and variations in floral organ number/positioning are observed.

Conclusions:

Variability in floral phyllotaxis arises from inherent stochasticity and developmental flexibility.
Two key diversification mechanisms in angiosperm floral evolution involve precise organ regulation and organ redundancy leading to phyllotactic flexibility.