Abstract
The current article presents the investigations into the effect of the laurina mutation on the functioning and size of the shoot apical meristem (SAM) in Coffea arabica. This monolocus and Mendelian mutation is known to have pleiotropic effects on tree shape and dwarfism. A comparison between the wild type C. arabica var. Bourbon and its natural dwarf mutant C. arabica var. laurina, also called Bourbon pointu, was carried out leading to three main results: (1) the effects appeared immediately after the emergence of the buttress but did not affect the dome-shaped SAM (size and shape); (2) the effects were located at the peripheral zone and maintained subsequently within the leaf primordia; (3) the effects consisted of reduction in both the size of primordia and the height of incipient internode, consequently resulting in dwarfism of mature leaves and internodes. By contrast, the laurina mutation had no effect on the relationship between the phyllochron and the plastochron, the decussate and opposite phyllotaxis, and the relative timing of SAM functioning within the plastochron.
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Acknowledgments
These studies were financially supported by the European Union, the Région de la Réunion, and the Institut pour la Recherche et le Développement (IRD). Aurélie Lécolier was the recipient of a Ph.D. grant. We also thank Mr. Frederic Descroix (CIRAD), for providing BP seeds, and Mr. Serge Hamon (IRD), for allowing the study to be carried out in the DGPC UMR.
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Communicated by P. von Aderkas.
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Lécolier, A., Noirot, M., Escoute, J. et al. Early effects of the mutation laurina on the functioning and size of the shoot apex in coffee tree and analysis of the plastochron phases: relationships with the dwarfism of leaves. Trees 23, 673–682 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0311-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0311-y