First records of non-native species (Plantaginaceae), which was previously misidentified as in Japan.

Background: The cosmopolitan genus (Plantaginaceae) is a clade of small herbaceous plants that encompasses terrestrial and aquatic species. In Japan, six species have been identified: four native and two naturalised species. , a naturalised terrestrial species, was first reported in 1984 in Kanagawa Prefecture and it is thriving today.

Experimental validation of the mechanism of stomatal development diversification.

Stomata are the structures responsible for gas exchange in plants. The established framework for stomatal development is based on the model plant Arabidopsis, but diverse patterns of stomatal development have been observed in other plant lineages and species. The molecular mechanisms behind these diversified patterns are still poorly understood.

WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX 13 suppresses de novo shoot regeneration via cell fate control of pluripotent callus.

Plants can regenerate their bodies via de novo establishment of shoot apical meristems (SAMs) from pluripotent callus. Only a small fraction of callus cells is eventually specified into SAMs but the molecular mechanisms underlying fate specification remain obscure. The expression of WUSCHEL (WUS) is an early hallmark of SAM fate acquisition.

as a potential model system for evolutionary studies on the dorsiventral distribution of stomata.

Controlling the distribution of stomata is crucial for the adaptation of plants to new, or changing environments. While many plant species produce stomata predominantly on the abaxial leaf surface (hypostomy), some produce stomata on both surfaces (amphistomy), and the remaining few produce them only on the adaxial surface (hyperstomy). Various selective pressures have driven the evolution of these three modes of stomatal distribution.

The diversity of stomatal development regulation in is related to the intrageneric diversity in lifestyles.

Stomata, the gas exchange structures of plants, are formed by the division and differentiation of stem cells, or meristemoids. Although diverse patterns of meristemoid behavior have been observed among different lineages of land plants, the ecological significance and diversification processes of these different patterns are not well understood. Here we describe an intrageneric diversity in the patterns of meristemoid division within the ecologically diverse genus (Plantaginaceae).

Dimorphic Leaf Development of the Aquatic Plant L. Through Differential Cell Division and Expansion.

Heterophylly, or phenotypic plasticity in leaf form, is a remarkable feature of amphibious plants. When the shoots of these plants grow underwater, they often develop surprisingly different leaves from those that emerge in air. Among aquatic plants, it is typical for two or more distinct leaf development processes to be observed in the same individual exposed to different environments.