Regulation of Leaf Shape in the Solanifolia Mutant of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) by Plant Growth Substances

The solanifolia mutant (sf/sf) of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) produces leaves consisting of leaflets with entire margins, unlike the lobed leaflets of normal plants. Normal plants treated with gibberellic acid (GA3) produced leaves with entire margins whereas mutant plants exposed to 2-chloroethyl-trimethyl ammonium chloride (CCC)—an inhibitor of gibberellin biosynthesis—produced lobing of leaflets. The leaf area of the mutant was significantly greater than that of the normal, but was not significantly different from GA3-treated normal leaves. Similarly, in CCC-treated mutant leaves the leaf area was not different from that of normal untreated leaves. These observations suggest that the sf/sf mutation affects the leaf shape through its effect on endogenous gibberellins and/or inhibitory substances.