Pea Leaf Morphogenesis: A Simple Model

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Abstract
A very simple algebraic model is proposed, which generates ‘leaves’ resembling both normal and mutant forms of the leaves of the pea (Pisum sativum L.). There are a number of simply inherited mutant forms of pea in which normal leaf structures (leaflets, tendrils, and rachides) occur in abnormal arrangements. For example, the acacia or tendril-less mutation (tl) causes leaflets to appear where the normal leaf has tendrils, and afila (af) replaces leaflets with branching rachides. The essential features of the model are, firstly, that the structure is determined sequentially during the repeated growth and sub-division of meristems, and secondly, that the developmental fate of each meristematic primordium is determined by its size: small primordia become tendrils, intermediate primordia leaflets and large ones rachides. It is proposed that the genes af andtl alter the size thresholds. The published descriptions of normal morphogenesis, of mutant phenotypes and of the effects of surgery are compatible with the model.

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