The development of the procdure for three dimensional imaging and analysis of leaves was succesful and gave consistenlty high-quality images for both A. The further aim was to characterize leaf growth in three dimensions, under well-watered conditions and soil water deficit, for Arabidopsis thaliana and apple, two dicots with a largely differing leaf cellular organisation. The aim of the present project was to develop a procedure for the three dimensional imaging and analysis of leaves to obtain leaf growth variables specific to internal leaf tissues. As studies into the three dimensional development of leaves are rare, the interaction between the different cell layers (epidermal and sub-epidermal) during growth is largely unknown and the effects of particular environmental stresses, such as soil water deficit, on internal leaf tissues have not been thoruoghly investigated.

However, leaf sub-epidermal tissues, the palisade and spongy mesophyll, contain the main actors in photosynthesis and their cellular organisation may affect leaf transpiration and the accumulation of photosynthates, which further influences whole plant growth. On the cell and leaf level, most studies have been limited to the leaf surface with data collected on leaf surface area and the number and surface area of epidermal cells. Leaf growth processes can be evaluated at different organisational levels, such as cells, the individual leaf and the whole plant.

Medinria date