Fig. 1. The ale2 mutant is defective in surface functions and in the organization of epidermis-related tissues. (A,C) Gross morphology of 18-day-old plants. Arrows indicate fusion of leaves. (B,D) Defects on the surface of the epidermis, as revealed by the TB test. (E) Morphology of flowers and inflorescences of a wild-type plant (left; Col-0), an ale2-1 plant (middle) and an homozygous ale2-1 plant that harbored a 6.5 kb ALE2 transgene (right). (F,G) Scanning electron micrographs of mature wild-type (F) and ale2-1 (G) ovules. The ale2-1 ovules have a rough surface and have fused to one another. (H,I) Sections of mature wild-type (H) and ale2-1 (I) ovules. Asterisk indicates the embryo sac. i, integument; et, endothelium; mp, micropyle. Scale bars: 1 cm in D for A-D; 100 µm in F,G; 100 µm in I for I,H.