Cell morphogenesis of trichomes in Arabidopsis: differential control of primary and secondary branching by branch initiation regulators and cell growth

Cell morphogenesis, i.e. the acquisition of a particular cell shape, can be examined genetically in the three-branched trichomes that differentiate from single epidermal cells on the leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. In normal development, the growing trichome cell undergoes two successive branching events, resulting in a proximal side stem and a distal main stem which subsequently splits in two branches. Using new and previously described trichome mutants, we have analyzed the branching pattern in single and double mutants affecting branch number or cell size in order to determine underlying mechanisms. Our results suggest that primary branching is genetically distinct from subsequent branching events and that the latter, secondary events are initiated in response to positive and negative regulators of branching as well as subject to control by cell growth. We propose a model of how trichome cell morphogenesis is regulated during normal development.