While genome size limits the minimum sizes and maximum numbers of cells that can be packed into a given leaf volume, mature cell sizes can be substantially larger than their meristematic precursors and vary in response to abiotic conditions. …
Genome size coordinates cell sizes and packing densities throughout the leaf
Maintaining high rates of photosynthesis in leaves requires efficient move- ment of CO2 from the atmosphere to the mesophyll cells inside the leaf where CO2 is converted into sugar. CO2 diffusion inside the leaf depends directly on the structure of …
Genome size links informational, structural, and functional dimensions of life
Interdsiciplinary approaches to environmental monitoring
A central challenge in plant ecology is to define the major axes of plant functional variation with direct con- sequences for fitness. Central to the three main components of plant fitness (growth, survival, and reproduction) is the rate of metabolic …
The abrupt origin and rapid diversification of the flowering plants during the Cretaceous has long been considered an “abominable mystery.” While the cause of their high diversity has been attributed largely to coevolution with pollinators and …