Growth history leaves a geometric trace in puzzle cells
Puzzle-shaped epidermal cells can reduce mechanical stress during organ growth and, as shown here, can also record tissue expansion history in their outlines. By combining mechanical simulations with time-lapse imaging, we find that transitions from directional to isotropic expansion induce new lobes along the previous growth axis, and that reversing the sequence of anisotropic and isotropic phases yields hybrid shapes that preserve the sequence of growth phases. In maize, model predictions closely match live imaging, and in Arabidopsis, final lobe patterns correlate more strongly with growth history than with cell size alone. Genetic or pharmacological perturbations that reduce lobing are associated with constrained leaf expansion or compensatory elongation, consistent with a mechanical role. A broad survey of living and fossil vascular plants indicates that the capacity to form puzzle-shaped cells is widespread and developmentally plastic, suggesting that single snapshots of leaves can reflect prior growth dynamics across species. Together, these findings show that puzzle cells transform cell geometry into a living record of how tissues grow.
Authors
- Mateusz Majda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3405-2901)
- Alice Perruchoud
- Dorota Kwiatkowska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0102-6988)
- Tammo Reichgelt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8652-5489)
- Lukas Hoermayer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8295-2926)
- Adam Runions (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7758-7423)
- Brendan Lane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1492-3864)
- Nicola Trozzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3951-6533)
- Andrea Meraviglia
- Frances Clark
- Adrienne H K Roeder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6685-2984)
Institutions
- John Innes Centre (GB)
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- University of Connecticut (US)
- University of Calgary (CA)
- Cornell University (US)
- Institute of Environmental Protection (PL)
- University of Silesia in Katowice (PL)
- University of Lausanne (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- EMBO Reports
- Published
- 2026-04-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44319-026-00755-y
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Plant Molecular Biology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 18.99
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- European Molecular Biology Organization
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- John Innes Foundation
- Narodowe Centrum Nauki
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- Faculté de Biologie et de Médecine, Université de Lausanne