Pavement cells in the leaf epidermis of many plant species have intricate shapes that fit together much like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. They provide an accessible system to understand the development of complex cell shape. Since a protrusion in one cell must fit into the indentation in its neighbor, puzzle cells are also a good system to study how cell shape is coordinated across a plant tissue. Although molecular mechanisms have been proposed for both the patterning and coordination of puzzle cells, evidence is accumulating that mechanical and/or geometric cues may play a more significant role than previously thought.
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