Cellular Interactions in the Development of Stomatal Patterns in Vinca major L

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Abstract
The development of the leaf epidermis of Vinca major L. was followed in situ by epi-illumination microscopy and evidence was sought for cellular interactions. Stomata were often found to be initiated in adjoining cells. The epidermal cells which separated such stomata when they had matured were formed from the same cells as the stomatal complexes themselves. The presence of developing and mature stomata may influence only the orientation of divisions in neighbouring cells, and not the initiation and maturation of stomata. There is great variability in the relative orientation, timing and number of divisions which intervene between the first unequal division and the maturation of a stoma as well as the location of stomata relative to the spongy mesophyll and minor veins. The results indicate that continuous short-range interactions between the future guard cells and the adjoining cells, rather than interactions between future stomata or a fixed programme of development, are essential for the formation of the pattern of functional stomata in the mature leaf.

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