Modelling of Plant Growth and Development

AbstractThe development of an organism results from complex interactions between biophysical and biochemical processes and is very dynamic. Therefore the mechanisms at play are best studied using computer simulations. The large amount of molecular data on multiple aspects of plant development and advances in plant imaging make it possible to use simulation modelling as a tool to complement experimental studies. For instance, models of gene regulation networks can predict genetic interactions, which can later be tested experimentally. Models of pattern formation in the root and the shoot based on the transport of the plant hormone auxin can simulate the localization of proteins involved in auxin efflux as well as generating realistic profiles of auxin distribution. Models are also starting to incorporate growth and the role of mechanical forces in development, which should provide a link between molecular biology studies and biophysics.Key conceptsPlant development is highly dynamic as pattern formation and growth occur concurrently.Modelling studies which can account for observed experimental data suggest genetic interactions in space can generate spatial patterns during plant development in a similar way to reaction‐diffusion mechanisms initially postulated in the middle of the twentieth century.Models of the relation between auxin gradient and root growth suggests the plant hormone auxin acts similarly to a morphogen. In the case of auxin the response to the morphogen may affect the morphogen gradient. This feedback mechanism can generate patterns similar to reaction diffusion and may account for phyllotaxis and leaf vein pattern formation. Experimental data is still needed to link models of auxin‐regulated pattern formation with gene regulatory networks.Mechanical forces affect growth and pattern formation. Methodologies are being developed to model the biomechanics of growth and integrate patterning through chemical and physical processes at various scales of organization.