Clonal analysis of leaf development in cotton.

Clonal analysis has been used to describe the cellular parameters of leaf development in American Pima cotton (Gossypium barbadense). Sectors (clones) induced before leaf initiation indicate that the leaf primordium arises from ~100 cells on the flank of the shoot meristem. An analysis of sector frequency during the period of leaf expansion suggests that the rate of cell division is fairly uniform throughout the length of the leaf, but is lower at the margin of the lamina than in intercalary regions. The shapes of marginal sectors indicate that the orientation of cell division (as defined by the orientation of the new cell wall) in this region is more often parallel to the margin than perpendicular to it, although the degree of polarization varies along the length of the margin. There is a slight gradient in the duration of cell division along the length of of the lamina late in development, with cell division ceasing progressively from the lamina tip to the base over two cell cycles. The parameters of cell division in cotton are therefore similar to those described for tobacco with the notable exception of the behavior of cells at the leaf margin.