Review: The genetic control of succulent leaf development (COPB)

Succulence provides plants with the ability to store water and is therefore commonly associated with plants from arid environments such as the familiar Aloe and Agave. Here, Heyduk reviews the genetic control of leaf succulence. Succulence usually involves large, highly vacuolated cells, but not surprisingly, succulence takes many forms (e.g., whether or not all cells are enlarged, number of cell layers, patterns of vascular tissues). In this review, the author discusses the contributions to succulence of molecular players known from model plants that are involved in patterning, cell division and expansion. As she points out, the ability to introduce one or two cell layers capable of storing water could be a big advantage to rainfed crops that periodically experience water limitation. (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching). Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 10.1016/j.pbi.2020.11.003