Hi!
I recently planted a transgenic Arabidopsis line carrying my gene. After the 20th day of transferring to soil, I noted that the rosette grows in a spiral manner. Basically the leaves twisted when it grow. Compared to the other replicate, it is the only plant showing the described symptom. However, similar condition has happened before to the same transgenic line. I have included the best picture I have to highlight the condition. The red arrow indicates the direction of the twisting/spiraling. Can anyone helps diagnosing the problem?
Thank you!
It might be environmental- one of the young leaves is very damaged. Plants do weird stuff when stressed.
But it could be genetic. Keep watching how it grows and if you get other similar plants in that line. It’s great that you are being observant and really looking at your plants!
That can be a phenotypic character displayed bcos of your gene. You should see whether all your transgenic lines are showing the similar phenotype, also if not it might be just one plant. Sometimes when your gene has multiple insertions in the genome, it can also lead to such a trait or since the insertions are random, it might be showing position affect.
The spiral growth of the Arabidopsis rosette is a result of a natural pattern called spiral phyllotaxis, which optimizes leaf arrangement for maximum light exposure and minimal shading. This pattern follows the golden angle of approximately 137.5°, a mathematical angle derived from the Fibonacci sequence, allowing each new leaf to emerge at a position that reduces overlap with previous leaves. The hormone **auxin** plays a crucial role in this process by determining where new leaves form on the shoot apical meristem. In the rosette stage, internodes (the spaces between leaves) remain short, so the spiral arrangement becomes more visible as the leaves cluster tightly at the base. This growth habit is a normal and efficient adaptation, not a sign of abnormality.
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