The growth of leaf nerves as an example of the entire plant
2006/06/19 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia
Look at the photo and pay attention to the nerves of the leaves, the beautiful image, right? So far scientists have not known what is the key to this beauty; finally, researchers at the University of Alberta (Canada) have managed to unravel the mystery.
The researchers already knew that a hormone, auxin, promotes the growth of nerves. As the leaf grows, the auxin advances and with it the nerves expand. But how is auxin channelled? To analyze it, they highlighted the protein that carries auxin through a fluorescent marker.
Thus, they have seen that in each nerve there are special cells that are responsible for transporting them in the two opposite senses to auxin. In addition, they have demonstrated the importance of leaf epidermis in hormonal transport and in the formation of nerves.
However, according to scientists, it has been even more important to note that the plant uses the same mechanism to correct the growth of both leaf nerves and branches that form from the trunk or from the main root.
