Abstract

Plants exhibit an astonishingly diverse capacity to respond to environmental signals in many aspects of their development. This phenotypic plasticity is an essential component of their ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions and accommodate their sessile lifestyle. Developmental responses include variation in continuous characteristics, such as stomatal density or root mass, as well as discrete developmental programmes that are produced in reaction to specific stimuli. Of particular interest are the germination, photoresponsive and flowering time pathways, which integrate a wide range of information in order to tailor a plant's development to the current environment. These kinds of pathways have three fundamental components: sensory systems that receive environmental input, interface systems that translate the inputs into specific developmental responses and, lastly, the developmental pathways themselves. The genetic basis for these components is just beginning to be understood.

Key concepts

• Phenotypic plasticity – The capacity of a given genotype to produce different phenotypes in different environmental conditions.
  
• Developmental plasticity – Variation in developmental processes that is induced by different environmental conditions.
  
• Maternal environmental effect – The ability of the mother to imprint information on her offspring, often regarding the expected environment for that offspring.