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Concept
Primordium
Summary
A primordium (praɪˈmɔːrdiəm; : primordia; synonym: anlage) in embryology, is an organ or tissue in its earliest recognizable stage of development. Cells of the primordium are called primordial cells. A primordium is the simplest set of cells capable of triggering growth of the would-be organ and the initial foundation from which an organ is able to grow. In flowering plants, a floral primordium gives rise to a flower.
Although it is a frequently used term in plant biology, the word is used in describing the biology of all multicellular organisms (for example: a tooth primordium in animals, a leaf primordium in plants or a sporophore primordium in fungi.)
Plants produce both leaf and flower primordia cells at the shoot apical meristem (SAM). Primordium development in plants is critical to the proper positioning and development of plant organs and cells. The process of primordium development is intricately regulated by a set of genes that affect the positioning, growth and differentiation of the primordium. Genes including STM (shoot meristemless) and CUC (cup-shaped cotyledon) are involved in defining the borders of the newly formed primordium.
The plant hormone auxin has also been implicated in this process, with the new primordium being initiated at the placenta, where the auxin concentration is highest. There is still much to understand about the genes involved in primordium development.
Leaf primordia are groups of cells that will form into new leaves. These new leaves form near the top of the shoot and resemble knobby outgrowths or inverted cones. Flower primordia are the little buds we see at the end of stems, from which flowers will develop. Flower primordia start off as a crease or indentation and later form into a bulge. This bulging is caused by slower and less anisotropic, or directionally dependent, growth.
Primordia initiation is the precursor for the start of a primordium, and typically confers new growth (either flowers or leaves) in plants once fully mature.
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Ontological neighbourhood
Related publications (9)
Related concepts (10)
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). Flowers produce gametophytes, which in flowering plants consist of a few haploid cells which produce gametes. The "male" gametophyte, which produces non-motile sperm, is enclosed within pollen grains; the "female" gametophyte is contained within the ovule. When pollen from the anther of a flower is deposited on the stigma, this is called pollination.
Plant development
Important structures in plant development are buds, shoots, roots, leaves, and flowers; plants produce these tissues and structures throughout their life from meristems located at the tips of organs, or between mature tissues. Thus, a living plant always has embryonic tissues. By contrast, an animal embryo will very early produce all of the body parts that it will ever have in its life. When the animal is born (or hatches from its egg), it has all its body parts and from that point will only grow larger and more mature.
Leaf
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, flower, and fruit collectively form the shoot system. In most leaves, the primary photosynthetic tissue is the palisade mesophyll and is located on the upper side of the blade or lamina of the leaf but in some species, including the mature foliage of Eucalyptus, palisade mesophyll is present on both sides and the leaves are said to be isobilateral.