Leaf shape mutants
In contrast with the simple leaves of Arabidopsis, tomato has compound leaves, which result from a balance between cell differentiation and meristem maintenance in shoots apices. Any mutation favoring precocious cell differentiation may result in leaf simplification (leaflet reduction and smoothing of leaflet margin) in tomato. The opposite situation occurs in mutants with increased meristematic activity, resulting in highly elaborated supercompound leaves. Mutations in the main transcription factors controlling meristem formation and maintenance (homeoboxes, TCP, GRAS, NAC) or transition (CETS) have a profound impact in leaf architecture. Tomato mutants affecting hormones (auxin and gibberellin) interplaying with such transcription factors also impact leaf shape. Large variation also occurs in leaf size via genes controlling cell cycle and expansion. Please click in the name of each mutant to obtain information about its molecular identity (gene function, if known) and its phenotype (gene effect of a given allele).