Cauliflower fractal forms arise from perturbations of floral gene networks

Azpeitia, Eugenio; Tichtinsky, Gabrielle; Le Masson, Marie; Serrano-Mislata, Antonio; Lucas, Jérémy; Gregis, Veronica; Gimenez, Carlos; Prunet, Nathanaël; Farcot, Etienne; Kater, Martin M.; Bradley, Desmond; Madueño, Francisco; Godin, Christophe; Parcy, Francois

Abstract

Throughout development, plant meristems regularly produce organs in defined spiral, opposite, or whorl patterns. Cauliflowers present an unusual organ arrangement with a multitude of spirals nested over a wide range of scales. How such a fractal, self-similar organization emerges from developmental mechanisms has remained elusive. Combining experimental analyses in an Arabidopsis thaliana cauliflower-like mutant with modeling, we found that curd self-similarity arises because the meristems fail to form flowers but keep the “memory” of their transient passage in a floral state. Additional mutations affecting meristem growth can induce the production of conical structures reminiscent of the conspicuous fractal Romanesco shape. This study reveals how fractal-like forms may emerge from the combination of key, defined perturbations of floral developmental programs and growth dynamics.

Citation

Azpeitia, E., Tichtinsky, G., Le Masson, M., Serrano-Mislata, A., Lucas, J., Gregis, V., Gimenez, C., Prunet, N., Farcot, E., Kater, M. M., Bradley, D., Madueño, F., Godin, C., & Parcy, F. (2021). Cauliflower fractal forms arise from perturbations of floral gene networks. Science, 373(6551), 192-197. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abg5999

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 3, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jul 9, 2021
• Publication Date: Jul 9, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jul 19, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 16, 2021
• Journal: Science
• Print ISSN: 0036-8075
• Electronic ISSN: 1095-9203
• Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 373
• Issue: 6551
• Pages: 192-197
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abg5999
• Keywords: Multidisciplinary
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5764992
• Publisher URL: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6551/192
• Additional Information: This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science on Vol 373, Issue 6551 09 July 2021, DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5999