Leaf and axillary shoot development from the shoot apical meristem

Sumary: Higher plants develop species-specific architectures by continuously generating lateral structures such as leaves and flowers from the shoot apical meristem post-embryonically. Their primordia are generated with phyllotactic patterns of species-specific manner and develop autonomously from the shoot apical meristem. In addition, axillary shoots, which form in the axils of leaves develop autonomously from the main axis and affect the final architecture of a plant. The variations of different developmental patterns in these lateral structures give rise to a variety of plant morphology. In this review, we focus on molecular mechanisms that regulate development of lateral structures.