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Cell-centered plant tissue modeling: towards a virtual leaf

Roeland Merks Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

Authors

Roeland Merks

Abstract

Plant organs, including leaves and roots, develop by means of a complicated, multi-level cross-talk between gene regulation, patterned cell division and cell expansion, and tissue mechanics. In contrast to the cells in many animal tissues, plant cells cannot migrate and, with very few exceptions, they cannot slide past each other. Consequently, plant morphogenesis depends entirely on patterned cell division, cell expansion, and cell differentiation. Thus plant development requires different cell-centered models than those developed for animal development, in which cell migration and tissue folding play a primary role. We will present a cell-centered computer-modeling framework for plant tissue morphogenesis, and show its application to the development of a Virtual Leaf model. Eventually, the Virtual Leaf should provide insight into gene function in the context of a growing leaf. Thus it should help plant researchers understand how the genetic knock-out or overexpression of a developmental gene will alter the normal course of development. We will illustrate the current use of the Virtual Leaf model with examples of auxin-driven vasculature development, determination of leaf shape, and meristem growth. We will also discuss the architecture of the modeling environment and our plans to interface it with a domain-specific language based on the Cell-Behavioral Ontology