Non-cell-autonomously coordinated organ size regulation in leaf development

The way in which the number and size of cells in an organ are determined poses a central challenge in our understanding of organ size control. Compensation is an unresolved phenomenon, whereby a decrease in cell proliferation below some threshold level triggers enhanced postmitotic cell expansion in leaf primordia. It suggests an interaction between these cellular processes during organogenesis and provides clues relevant to an understanding of organ size regulation. Although much attention has been given to compensation, it remains unclear how the cellular processes are coordinated. Here, we used a loss-of-function mutation in the transcriptional coactivator gene ANGUSTIFOLIA3 (AN3), which causes typical compensation in Arabidopsis thaliana. We established Cre/lox systems to generate leaves chimeric for AN3 expression and investigated whether compensation occurs in a cell-autonomous or non-cell-autonomous manner. We found that an3-dependent compensation is a non-cell-autonomous process, and that an3 cells seem to generate and transmit an intercellular signal that enhances postmitotic cell expansion. The range of signalling was restricted to within one-half of a leaf partitioned by the midrib. Additionally, we also demonstrated that overexpression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor gene KIP-RELATED PROTEIN2 resulted in cell-autonomous compensation. Together, our results revealed two previously unknown pathways that coordinate cell proliferation and postmitotic cell expansion for organ size control in plants.