M. Hülskamp is the first author of a 1994 study using mutants to dissect trichome development in Arabidopsis thaliana. The investigators isolated and characterized more than mutants representing genes, then compared the shapes and developmental phenotypes of their specialized epidermal cells.[ref]
The phenotypes helped distinguish events contributing to mature-cell architecture. Although these events normally occur in a temporal sequence, the genetic comparisons indicated that much of the final form is assembled through partly independent processes.[ref]
This illustrates how an observed sequence can differ from a strict chain of necessities. If one feature is altered while another still forms, the earlier feature need not be the only route by which the later one is produced. Comparing multiple mutants therefore reveals relationships that a movie of normal morphogenesis alone would not establish.
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