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The authors reveal that failure to activate PGL1, a polygalacturonase degrading cell wall pectin, in the tcpΔ7 mutant results in enhanced endoreplication and cell enlargement, unraveling a critical role of pectin in controlling endocycle progression and cell growth.

During development, what determines whether precursors differentiate or continue to divide? For stomatal lineage ground cells, division potential is the product of a cell’s neighbourhood, nuclear size and transcription factor dynamics.

Photosynthesis of leaves located above maize ear provides major source of carbohydrates for grain filling. Here, the authors report the cloning of a MADS-box encoding gene responsible for increased leaf number above the ear, enhancing maize source strength while maintaining source-sink balance.

A quintuple mutant—affected in gibberellin signalling, as well as showing faster and enhanced growth compared to the wild type—is used as a tool to understand the physiological basis of source–sink coordination.

This study by Scacchi et al. shows that a mobile small-RNA-based Turing system dynamically organizes plant organ polarity. The afforded developmental flexibility accounts for diversity in organ shapes, from radialized or cup-shaped to the robust planar shape of a typical leaf.

This study reveals a pathway in which the transformation of trifoliate leaves into pinnate-like pentafoliate leaves is regulated by the conserved regulators of floral development (MtUFO) and leaf development (MtKNOXI) in M. truncatula.

The epidermal surface of leaves and flower petals often display cells with wavy geometries. Here the authors provide evidence that this pattern represents an energy-efficient mechanism to protect plants from deleterious surface fissures and toughen the plants’ protective surface.

Endo et al. describe a protocol for the isolation of mesophyll, vascular and epidermal tissues from Arabidopsis leaves. The protocol can be applied to tissue-specific transcriptome, methylome and proteome studies in a number of crop plants.

Grass ligules comprise the boundary between the leaf base and the photosynthetic blade; their homology has been debated for over 200 years. Cell-specific gene expression analyses suggest that ligules are homologous to the margins of the leaf base.

In many plants, only the outermost cells are specified into the epidermis, with underlying mechanisms unknown. Here, the authors show that a key epidermis identity gene is activated in surface cells, via positional cues involving mechanical signals.

Resolving R-loops caused by transcription-replication conflicts (TRCs) is vital to genome stability in organisms. Here, the authors show that the chloroplast-localized primase ATH intensifies template strand competition and exacerbates the Head-On TRCs induced DNA damage.

This study uncovers the specialized function of previously elusive BCL7 subunits of SWI/SNF complexes in eukaryotes and reveals the mechanism whereby plants memorize the juvenile identity through SWI/SNF-mediated control of chromatin accessibility.

Pinnate compound leaves sequentially produce their leaflets along the longitudinal axes. The study identifies the MPL1 gene as a key regulator in orchestrating an acropetal pattern of leaflet formation during the chickpea pinnate leaf development.

The antagonistic activities of miR156 and miR172 regulate juvenile-to-adult phase transition during plant shoot growth. Here the authors show that cytokinin promotes this transition by increasing miR172 abundance which in turn represses the activity of the transcriptional regulators TOE1 and TOE2.

The establishment of leaf adaxial–abaxial polarity happens early at the shoot apical meristem. Using quantitative live imaging of auxin and dorsiventral polarity markers, the authors trace the origin of polarity to before primordium emergence, to an overlay of high auxin onto a meristem periphery prepattern.

In Arabidopsis, BSL1 localizes to the cell cortex and activates the MAPKK Kinase YDA to inhibit stomatal production. Here the authors show that three other BSL proteins BSL2, BSL3, and BSU1 act in the nucleus to deactivate MPK6 and promote stomatal formation.

Recent warming has significantly advanced leaf onset in the northern hemisphere. Here, the authors show asymmetric effects of daytime and nighttime temperature change on the timing of leaf onset.

During plant development, organ size is controlled by cell proliferation and expansion, but the molecular mechanisms involved are unclear. Here, Lu et al.show that leaf cell expansion is controlled by the KUA1 transcription factor that acts in a circadian manner and modulates the expression of genes encoding cell wall-localized peroxidases.

The pitcher-shaped leaf of the carnivorous plant Sarracenia purpurea acts as a pitfall trap to capture small animals. Here, Fukushima et al. analyse pitcher leaf development and propose that this unusual shape evolved from ancestral planar leaves through changes in the orientation of cell division.

Do simple leaves have the potential to become compound leaves? In Arabidopsis, the combined action of CINCINNATA-like TEOSINTE BRANCHED1, CYCLOIDEA, PROLIFERATING CELL FACTORS (CIN-TCP) transcription factors and class II KNOTTED1-LIKE (KNOX-II) transcription factors suppresses leaflet initiation in simple leaves. Downregulation of these genes leads to super-compound leaves.

Relationships between leaf size and vein architecture in more than 1,700 grass species worldwide show that grasses native to colder and drier climates have shorter and narrower leaves that provide them with physiological advantages.

Despite the importance of proximal-distal patterning of leaves in cereal productivity, the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, the authors find that the ratio of sheath to blade in rice leaf shifts depends on the expression levels of BLADE-ON-PETIOLE genes.

Live-cell imaging and finite-element modelling shows how the plant's cytoskeleton gives shape to trichomes. The actin-related protein (ARP)2/3 complex generates an actin meshwork that directs growth through cell-wall anisotropy and organelle transport control.

The size of dicotyledon leaves and their venation vary enormously across ecosystems. In this study, using 485 plant species, scaling relationships are presented between vein traits and leaf size, and explained based on a developmental algorithm that demonstrates why smaller leaves persist in drier areas.

An autonomous robotic platform enables high-throughput, low-cost, and high-volume phenotypic measurements in maize canopies, facilitating the understanding of genotype, environment, and management interactions (GxExM) with high accuracy.

As photosynthesis requires water, its transport to and within leaves is a potential determinant of photosynthetic productivity. This comparison of 30 species of Viburnum shows how variations in venation architecture constrain photosynthetic rate.

Thomas Brutnell and colleagues report RNA-Seq analysis of the maize leaf transcriptome during stages of leaf development. They identify dynamic changes in gene expression during the progression of leaf development.

Plants employ developmental strategies to avoid shade and compete with neighbors for light. Here, Xie et al. show that phytochrome-interacting factors, which are regulated in a light-dependent manner, directly repress MIR156 genes and promote the expression of SPL genes to enhance shade-avoidance responses.

The compartmentation of monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis in periwinkle leaves was determined using single-cell RNA-seq, which reveals the spatial distribution of plant specialized metabolism at the single-cell resolution.

The authors developed a mathematical model that provides a non-linear dynamics explanation for the formation of petal patterns in broken tulips.

A transgenic Venus flytrap expressing a fluorescent calcium sensor allows real-time live quantification of calcium waves triggered by sensory hair movement. The study suggests that calcium levels represent the molecular basis for the memory effect that requires two stimulations within 30 s.

Using de novo root regeneration from a detached Arabidopsis leaf as a model system, the authors show that jasmonates are a crucial signalling step from wounding to a local auxin response.

A chromosome-level genome assembly for the amphibious plant Rorippa aquatica uncovers its tetraploid origin and an involvement of ethylene in heterophylly upon submergence.

Arabidopsis H3K9 methyltransferases directly interact with ASYMMETRIC LEAVES1 (AS1) and AS2 to repress KNOTTED-LIKE FROM ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA 1 (KNAT1) and KNAT2 in leaf development.

A loss-of-function mutation in the RPN12a proteasome subunit in Arabidopsis thaliana shows that this protein is essential for hormonal homeostasis, thereby modulating plant’s development and the progression of leaf senescence.