Morphogenesis in Plants: Modeling the Shoot Apical Meristem, and Possible Applications

Morphogenesis in Plants: Modeling the Shoot Apical Merist&,rand Possible Applications

A key determinant of overall morphogenesis in flowering plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana is the shoot apical meristem (growing tip of a shoot). Gene r gulation networks can be used to model this system. We exhibit a very preliminary two-dimensional model including gene regulation and intercellular signaling, but omitting cell division ana' dynamical geometry. The model can be hnined to have ...

THE EFFECTS OF SALT STRESS ON THE SHOOT APICAL MERISTEM AND LEAF GENIERATION IN SUNFLOWER (HELIANTNUS ANNUUS L.)

Sunflower (Helictnthur annuus L. cvs Mehr Shafagh) seedlings were grown in nutrient solutions containing 20.5 to 70.4 mM NaCl and 0 as the control. The effects of salinity on developmental changes occurring in the shoot apices of plants were studied. At 20.5 mM NaCI concentration, the leaf emergence rate and plastochron index of Shafagh increased significantly, but this phenomenon was not o...

Elastic domains regulate growth and organogenesis in the plant shoot apical meristem.

Although genetic control of morphogenesis is well established, elaboration of complex shapes requires changes in the mechanical properties of cells. In plants, the first visible sign of leaf formation is a bulge on the flank of the shoot apical meristem. Bulging results from local relaxation of cell walls, which causes them to yield to internal hydrostatic pressure. By manipulation of tissue te...

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN SHOOT APICAL MERISTEM OF SAFFRON CROCUS DURING THE PERIOD OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Temperature-sensitive mutations that arrest Arabidopsis shoot development.

To identify genes involved in meristem function we have designed a screen for temperature-sensitive mutations that cause a conditional arrest of early shoot development in Arabidopsis. We describe the characterization of three mutations, arrested development (add) 1, 2 and 3. At the restrictive temperature the add1 and add2 mutations disrupt apical meristem function as assayed by leaf initiatio...