Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs

New tools are required to address the challenge of relating plant hormone levels, hormone responses, wall biochemistry and wall mechanical properties to organ-scale growth. Current vertex-based models (applied in other contexts) can be unsuitable for simulating the growth of elongated organs such as...

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Main Authors: Fozard, John A., Lucas, Mikaël, King, John R., Jensen, Oliver E.
Format: Article
Published: Frontiers 2013
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2363/
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author Fozard, John A.
Lucas, Mikaël
King, John R.
Jensen, Oliver E.
author_facet Fozard, John A.
Lucas, Mikaël
King, John R.
Jensen, Oliver E.
author_sort Fozard, John A.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description New tools are required to address the challenge of relating plant hormone levels, hormone responses, wall biochemistry and wall mechanical properties to organ-scale growth. Current vertex-based models (applied in other contexts) can be unsuitable for simulating the growth of elongated organs such as roots because of the large aspect ratio of the cells, and these models fail to capture the mechanical properties of cell walls in sufficient detail. We describe a vertex-element model which resolves individual cells and includes anisotropic non-linear viscoelastic mechanical properties of cell walls and cell division whilst still being computationally efficient. We show that detailed consideration of the cell walls in the plane of a 2D simulation is necessary when cells have large aspect ratio, such as those in the root elongation zone of Arabidopsis thaliana, in order to avoid anomalous transverse swelling. We explore how differences in the mechanical properties of cells across an organ can result in bending and how cellulose microfibril orientation affects macroscale growth. We also demonstrate that the model can be used to simulate growth on realistic geometries, for example that of the primary root apex, using moderate computational resources. The model shows how macroscopic root shape can be sensitive to fine-scale cellular geometries.
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spelling nottingham-23632020-05-04T16:38:01Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2363/ Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs Fozard, John A. Lucas, Mikaël King, John R. Jensen, Oliver E. New tools are required to address the challenge of relating plant hormone levels, hormone responses, wall biochemistry and wall mechanical properties to organ-scale growth. Current vertex-based models (applied in other contexts) can be unsuitable for simulating the growth of elongated organs such as roots because of the large aspect ratio of the cells, and these models fail to capture the mechanical properties of cell walls in sufficient detail. We describe a vertex-element model which resolves individual cells and includes anisotropic non-linear viscoelastic mechanical properties of cell walls and cell division whilst still being computationally efficient. We show that detailed consideration of the cell walls in the plane of a 2D simulation is necessary when cells have large aspect ratio, such as those in the root elongation zone of Arabidopsis thaliana, in order to avoid anomalous transverse swelling. We explore how differences in the mechanical properties of cells across an organ can result in bending and how cellulose microfibril orientation affects macroscale growth. We also demonstrate that the model can be used to simulate growth on realistic geometries, for example that of the primary root apex, using moderate computational resources. The model shows how macroscopic root shape can be sensitive to fine-scale cellular geometries. Frontiers 2013-07-10 Article PeerReviewed Fozard, John A., Lucas, Mikaël, King, John R. and Jensen, Oliver E. (2013) Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs. Frontiers in Plant Science, 4 (233). ISSN 1664-462X http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpls.2013.00233/abstract doi:10.3389/fpls.2013.00233 doi:10.3389/fpls.2013.00233
spellingShingle Fozard, John A.
Lucas, Mikaël
King, John R.
Jensen, Oliver E.
Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
title Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
title_full Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
title_fullStr Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
title_full_unstemmed Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
title_short Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
title_sort vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2363/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2363/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2363/