Bensmihen Sandra, Hanna Andrew I, Langlade Nicolas B, Micol José Luis, Bangham Andrew, Coen Enrico S
HFSP J. 2008 Apr;2(2):110-20. doi: 10.2976/1.2836738. Epub 2008 Feb 12.
A key approach to understanding how genes control growth and form is to analyze mutants in which shape and size have been perturbed. Although many mutants of this kind have been described in plants and animals, a general quantitative framework for describing them has yet to be established. Here we describe an approach based on Principal Component Analysis of organ landmarks and outlines. Applying this method to a collection of leaf shape mutants in Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum allows low-dimensional spaces to be constructed that capture the key variations in shape and size. Mutant phenotypes can be represented as vectors in these allometric spaces, allowing additive gene interactions to be readily described. The principal axis of each allometric space reflects size variation and an associated shape change. The shape change is similar to that observed during the later stages of normal development, suggesting that many phenotypic differences involve modulations in the timing of growth arrest. Comparison between allometric mutant spaces from different species reveals a similar range of phenotypic possibilities. The spaces therefore provide a general quantitative framework for exploring and comparing the development and evolution of form.
理解基因如何控制生长和形态的一个关键方法是分析形状和大小受到干扰的突变体。尽管在植物和动物中已经描述了许多这类突变体，但尚未建立一个描述它们的通用定量框架。在此，我们描述一种基于器官地标和轮廓主成分分析的方法。将此方法应用于拟南芥和金鱼草的叶形突变体集合，能够构建低维空间，捕捉形状和大小的关键变化。突变体表型可表示为这些异速生长空间中的向量，从而能够轻松描述加性基因相互作用。每个异速生长空间的主轴反映大小变化和相关的形状变化。这种形状变化类似于在正常发育后期观察到的变化，这表明许多表型差异涉及生长停滞时间的调节。不同物种异速生长突变体空间之间的比较揭示了相似范围的表型可能性。因此，这些空间为探索和比较形态的发育与进化提供了一个通用的定量框架。
