Fig. 5

B. megaterium 4C accelerates leaf development and increases CK pathway activation. S. lycopersicum cv. M82 seedlings were treated with indicated bacteria (OD₆₀₀ = 0.1), once a week for 2 weeks, starting from cotyledon emergence. Leaf complexity and TCSv2::3XVenus expression were measured in 10 day old M82 mock and 4C treated plants. A Typical Mock treated shoot apical meristem (SAM) and three youngest leaf primordia (p1–p3). Bar = 1000 µm. B Typical B. megaterium 4C treated SAM and p1-p3. P2 and p3 are indicated in the Venus fluorescence images, with asterisks indicating the nascent leaflets on p3. C Number of leaflets and lobes produced on p3 and p4. D TCSv2 driven total Venus fluorescence was measured as mean arbitrary fluorescent units (AFU) in images captured under identical conditions in shoots comprising the 5 youngest primordia. Each primordia was quantified for leaflet number and TCS expression when Leaf No. 5 was at the indicated developmental stage- all quantifications were done on the fifth leaf as it developed. C, D Floating bars depict minimum to maximum values, with lines indicating mean. Three independent experiments were conducted. Asterisks represent statistical significance from mock treatment, and different letters represent statistically significant differences among samples, in a one-way ANOVA with a Dunnett post-hoc test (C), or in a two-tailed t-test (D). ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001. C N = 12, p < 0.0002. D N = 21, p < 0.0001