Plants continuously generate new organs through the activity of populations of stem cells called meristems. The shoot apical meristem initiates leaves, flowers, and lateral meristems in highly ordered, spiralled, or whorled patterns via a process called phyllotaxis. It is commonly accepted that the active transport of the plant hormone auxin plays a major role in this process. Current hypotheses propose that cellular hormone transporters of the PIN family would create local auxin maxima at precise positions, which in turn would lead to organ initiation. To explain how auxin transporters could create hormone fluxes to distinct regions within the plant, different concepts have been proposed. A major hypothesis, canalization, proposes that the auxin transporters act by amplifying and stabilizing existing fluxes, which could be initiated, for example, by local diffusion. This convincingly explains the organised auxin fluxes during vein formation, but for the shoot apical meristem a second hypothesis was proposed, where the hormone would be systematically transported towards the areas with the highest concentrations. This implies the coexistence of two radically different mechanisms for PIN allocation in the membrane, one based on flux sensing and the other on local concentration sensing. Because these patterning processes require the interaction of hundreds of cells, it is impossible to estimate on a purely intuitive basis if a particular scenario is plausible or not. Therefore, computational modelling provides a powerful means to test this type of complex hypothesis. Here, using a dedicated computer simulation tool, we show that a flux-based polarization hypothesis is able to explain auxin transport at the shoot meristem as well, thus providing a unifying concept for the control of auxin distribution in the plant. Further experiments are now required to distinguish between flux-based polarization and other hypotheses.
During plant development, organs are continuously created by small populations of cells called apical meristems. The so-called shoot apical meristem (SAM) generates all the aerial parts of the plant. The SAM is a highly organized structure, composed of a central zone required to maintain the meristem and a surrounding peripheral zone, that is competent to initiate new organ primordia [1]. The young organs are usually initiated in highly ordered spiralled or whorled patterns. This remarkable arrangement of organs is called phyllotaxy and varies according to particular plant species and growth conditions. Over the last two centuries, phyllotaxy has been extensively studied and different models for this patterning process have been proposed. From a mechanistic point of view, it is now widely accepted that phyllotaxy emerges from a process of local lateral inhibition: each primordium creates an inhibitory field in its vicinity where no other primordium can develop. This basic inhibitory field hypothesis (see [2] for a review), is potentially able to generate a wide range of phyllotactic patterns [2]–[6]. Hypotheses concerning the physiological nature of these inhibitory fields were proposed only recently [7]. They rely on the signalling role of a key hormone called auxin, that plays a crucial role in primordium formation [1]. Auxin is actively transported throughout the plant from cell to cell by carriers that are located at the cell plasma membranes [8]. During auxin transport influx carriers of the AUX/LAX family, facilitate auxin import into the cells. This is in contrast to the PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins, which facilitate efflux [9]. Interestingly, PIN proteins often accumulate on one particular side of the cell, thus suggesting that auxin is evacuated preferentially via that side. Importantly, PIN carriers often show locally coherent orientations between groups of neighbouring cells, indicating that PIN orientation is coordinated at the level of tissues [7], [10]. It is therefore possible to imagine how cells could transport auxin from cell to cell throughout the plant, thereby creating fluxes that lead to local hormone maxima and minima [11], [12]. These differences in concentration would subsequently be interpreted in terms of differential gene expression and growth rates. At the SAM, auxin importers and exporters are mainly expressed at the meristem surface [7]. When auxin transport is inhibited, organ initiation is severely affected or even totally absent [13]. In addition, the cells at the SAM orient their PIN proteins towards the young primordia and it is now currently thought that organs are initiated at auxin accumulation points, while the hormone is depleted in their neighbourhoods [7]. The young primordia would thus create drainage basins in their vicinity which would be equivalent to the inhibitory fields proposed previously. While the coherent behaviour of PIN proteins in cell populations is well established, the actual mechanism behind this phenomenon is still not well understood. So far two basic concepts have been proposed. A first hypothesis is based on the pioneering work of Sachs (1969) on vascular tissue differentiation in plants [14]. Sachs proposed that auxin transport is facilitated during the process of vascular tissue induction. He suggested that the positive feedback between flux and transport is able to amplify small fluxes and can potentially create canals of auxin between auxin sources and sinks that subsequently differentiate into vein tissues. This positive feedback between flux and transport is at the basis of the flux-based polarization mechanism we study in this work. The canalization hypothesis was then formalized by Mitchison [15], [16] who developed a mathematical model of this process that increases membrane permeability of cell plasma membrane on the sides where the net flux of auxin is positive. This model was then further studied in the context of leaf venation pattern by several authors [17]–[20] who interpreted the canalization hypothesis as a feedback mechanism between auxin fluxes and PIN transporters and studied the properties of such a coupling both on a fixed shape and during leaf development. From the biological point of view, recent experiments tend to support the canalization hypothesis, at least in the inner tissues of the plant [21]–[23]. However, whether it could also account for the behaviour of auxin transporters in other parts of the plant such as the shoot and root apical meristem or leaf margins remains an open question. More recently, a second concept was proposed to explain auxin transport at the SAM surface [24], [25]. Based on the observation that PIN carriers point to primordia initiation sites in the SAM which supposedly correspond to auxin maxima, it was hypothesized that relative concentrations of auxin in neighbouring cells differentially drive the polarization of PIN1 to the corresponding portion of the membrane between each cell and its neighbours [24]. The cells would thus tend to export auxin against the auxin concentration gradient (referred to here as concentration-based hypothesis), thus amplifying differences in local auxin concentrations and creating local maxima or spots of auxin [22]. The comparision of concentration-based and flux-based polarization hypothesis is presented in Figure 1, Using computational modelling, several authors were able to show that concentration-based hypothesis can produce spiralled and whorled phyllotactic patterns. In a recent article, Merks et al. proposed a modified concentration-based hypothesis [26]. Although it requires further development, it is potentially able to explain the formation of veins in internal tissues. Could it, therefore, represent a unifying mechanism for the control of auxin fluxes throughout the plant? A major argument against this idea is that the model does not seem to be compatible with the presence of stable auxin maxima in tissues. This is typically the case at the root meristem, where a continuous, stable auxin maximum is maintained with incoming and outgoing fluxes [27]. In a recent study, Sauer et al. suggested that cell-type specific factors could decide whether one or the other mechanism would be used [23], but this remains to be proven. Since the concentration-based hypothesis can not, on its own, provide a unifying mechanism for the control of auxin fluxes in the plant, we investigated whether flux-based polarization hypothesis, as the other major concept in the field could provide a realistic alternative. Since such cell-cell signalling based patterning processes involve the interactions between hundreds of cells it is impossible to estimate on a purely intuitive basis if a particular scenario is plausible or not. In this context, computational modelling provides a powerful means to test this type of hypotheses. We therefore designed a set of models and showed that the flux-based polarization mechanism is able to: We therefore conclude that flux-based polarization could provide a unifying principle for the guidance of auxin fluxes in the plant. In addition, our model leads to a set of testable predictions, that should be able to distinguish between the flux-based and concentration-based polarization hypotheses.
To model auxin transport in a tissue we used a set of auxin related hypotheses derived from biological observations taken from the literature (see also introduction): To design the model of phyllotaxis, we extended the auxin related hypotheses with a set of hypotheses related to phyllotaxis: The model is essentially based on the flux-based polarization hypothesis derived from the canalization concept, introduced by Sachs [14] who suggested that auxin transport is increased during the vascular induction by the auxin flux itself, leading to the canalization of the flux (for earlier mathematical formalizations see also [15]–[18], [37]. The model is inspired by the original Mitchison model revisited by Rolland-Lagan and Prusinkiewicz [16], [18]. As mentioned above we suppose that auxin flows essentially in two separated conduits: the L1 layer and the subepidermal layers. The two systems meet at the primordia cells. This very localized coupling between epidermal and subepidermal domains makes it possible to model the transport in each pathway independently and to account for their interaction at the sites of primordia only.
The flux-based hypothesis, proposes that any small flux between two cells in the system will reinforce itself by increasing the local amount of PIN, thus initiating a positive feedback loop. Initial fluxes may typically be generated by diffusion between zones with different concentrations. We illustrated this phenomenon on a 1-dimensional tissue with two perfect auxin sinks at both extremities (Figure 2A). Auxin is produced in every cell except the sink cells. Initially, the highest flux appears close to the sink cells, due to diffusion. This small initial flux is subsequently reinforced by a polar allocation of PIN transporters favoring the evacuation of auxin in the direction initiated by the original flux. If the auxin sink is maintained, the auxin flux reaches a stable state with the maximum concentration of auxin appearing at the maximal distance from both sinks (Figure 2A). This figure also shows that the concentration of PIN at each cell membrane linearly increases from the location of the auxin maximum up to the sinks. This is because each cell is producing auxin at a constant rate αa and in the stationary state the amount of removed auxin must be balanced by auxin synthesis (if we neglect auxin degradation). It implies that the auxin flux should grow linearly in the direction of the closest sink. If the feedback function Φ is linear, this results in a linearly increasing allocation of PINs to the cell membranes in the direction of the closest sink. Although the molecular mechanism underlying PIN polarization is still unknown, PIN proteins can polarize either with or against the gradient of auxin [8], [22], [45]. If a unique transport mechanism is operating in the plant it should thus be able to reproduce this property. In the previous example, auxin fluxes were amplified from regions of high concentration of auxin to regions of low concentration (Figure 2A). Auxin thus flowed with the auxin gradient. To show that flux-based polarization can also lead to flow against the gradient, we modified the above 1-dimensional model by weakening the sinks in such a way that they were only able to degrade auxin at a finite constant rate. This simple modification produces a drastic change in the system' s behaviour. The auxin gradient is now reversed in the stable state, with highest concentrations at the sink locations and lowest in the places maximizing the distance to all sinks (Figure 2B). To study the conditions for either pumping with or against the gradient, we considered a system of two cells sharing a membrane. One cell is a source of auxin while the other acts as a sink destroying auxin at a constant rate. Once this system reaches a stable state, the net flux across the membranes separating the two cells is exactly equal to the rate at which the source creates auxin and leads to a polarization of PIN from the source to the sink. Depending on the model parameters, the system can reach different levels of concentration in both cells. Two regimes may be obtained as shown by the graphs (Figure 2C and 2D). The transition between both regimes, pumping with or against the gradient, can be obtained by varying different parameters of the model such as the feedback strength and the degradation rate (2). Initially, the flux-based polarization hypothesis was introduced to model the formation of vascular canals in stem and leaf tissues, as an integral part of the canalization concept [15]–[17], [19], [37]. Using this mechanism in the meristem may seem in contradiction with the absence of canals at the meristem surface. Feugier et al. [17] demonstrated that a fluxed-based polarization mechanism where the feedback function Φ was linear did not result in the formation of canals in a tissue. We further confirmed this by comparing the behaviour of auxin transporters in a 2D sheet of cells showing weak or strong feedback. When the feedback function Φ is non-accelerating (increasing linearly or less rapidly than linearly) the process creates laminar flows transported by homogeneous arrangement of PINs and converging to the sink (Figure 3A). We refer to such a system as a weak regime. Conversely, when the feedback function Φ is accelerating (increasing more rapidly than linearly), canals appear, creating branching structures in the 2D tissue (Figure 3B). We will call such a system a strong regime. In both cases, fluxes may be oriented with or against the gradient, depending on the model parameters and boundary conditions. As explained earlier, the most widely accepted theory of phyllotaxy relies on the formation of inhibitory fields around each primordium. Recent models propose that these fields are in fact zones where auxin is depleted [2], [3], [6]. To show that flux-based polarization can indeed be considered as a plausible mechanism, we demonstrate that it can generate such inhibitory fields with varying intensities. A weak regime (as in Figure 3A) leads to the formation of a zone around the sink where auxin is depleted. The intensity of the auxin depletion fields around sinks can be changed by tuning the parameter κ that controls the feedback level of auxin fluxes on PIN insertion in the membranes. Figure 4 shows the extent of inhibitory fields (in black) around the blue sinks for increasing values of parameter κ. PIN is regularly distributed throughout the tissue, with a polarity that is determined by the relative distance of the cell to the different sinks. The weak regime thus makes it possible to vary the auxin depletion level around sinks. It therefore provides a plausible explanation for the formation of inhibitory fields during organ initiation at the SAM. The mechanism that controls PIN orientation in cells takes place in a growing structure. Therefore we constructed a dynamic model with dividing and growing cells. As before, we assume that all cells create auxin except for a limited number of cells marked as sinks in which auxin concentration is fixed at 0. To produce phyllotactic patterns, the combination of flux-based polarization hypothesis and tissue growth should therefore show a recurrent, temporal patterning property. We show this property in a simplified 1D model by introducing a sink creation threshold, i. e. , an auxin concentration at which a new auxin sink is created. In a growing system, neighbouring auxin sinks are pushed apart. Due to the weakening of the sink influence and the constant local hormone production the level of auxin increases in the zone between these two sinks. At a particular auxin threshold (the sink initiation threshold ω), the amount of hormone is sufficient to initiate a new sink at the location which is the farthest from the two sinks (Figure 5A and 5B). As a result of sink creation, some of the PIN pumps reverse toward the new sink, with PIN and auxin patterns similar to that of the previous sinks. By changing the sink initiation threshold ω, it is possible to augment or to decrease the initiation frequency (Figure 5C–F). In the supplementary materials we show in details how the initiation frequency depends on different model parameters (Text S1). In Barbier et al. (2006), we showed that the distribution of PIN at the SAM (called “PIN map”) has a number of specific features [10]. As illustrated in Figure 6, PIN labelled membranes are pointing towards their nearest primordium (blue dots in Figures 6B and 6C). In addition, a significant number of cells appear to transport auxin to the meristem summit. A plausible model of phyllotaxy should be able to reproduce similar distributions of PIN. To determine to what extent the flux-based polarization model could reproduce realistic PIN maps, we digitized the cell walls on the images of real meristems, immunolabelled to visualize PIN. We recorded the PIN orientation in each cell as described in [10] (called real PIN maps as in Figure 6C). The position of each primordium could be clearly identified as indicated by the convergence of PIN toward particular cells and the presence of vascular strands below these primordia seen on other sections of the same meristem (blue dots in Figure 6B, longitudinal image data not shown). We also designated a central zone of about 6 cells in diameter at the meristem summit. This zone is usually free of primordia in the wild type Arabidopsis SAM. We then simulated the emerging arrangement of PIN distributions according to the flux-based polarization hypothesis on the digitized maps. Primordia were considered as perfect sinks while all other cells in the meristem were assumed to produce auxin at a fixed rate according to Equation 2. The resulting PIN distributions are shown in Figure 7. Close to the primordia, the simulated PIN arrangements are converging towards the sink cell and look similar to the PIN arrangements on the real PIN maps (Figure 6A). Besides, auxin accumulates at the position where one would expect the next initium in a spiral phyllotaxy (Figure 7A). However, contrary to real PIN maps, virtual PIN patterns did not show any significant converging tendency towards the centre of the meristem. To overcome this discrepancy, we made a second simulation, where the cells in the meristem centre were assumed to degrade auxin at a higher rate. While the convergence of PIN toward the primordia cells is preserved, an additional convergence of PIN toward the centre is now observed, reflecting more faithfully the observed distributions of PIN in the immunolabelling images (compare Figures 6C and 7B). The same result were obtained by reducing the synthesis of auxin in the central zone of the meristem (result not shown). To go beyond a simple visual inspection for similarity, we computed the so-called influence zones of the primordia and of the central zone in the real meristem and compared them to those in the simulated meristems. The influence zone of a region (i. e. , a cluster of cells) is the set of meristem cells that are connected to a cell of the considered region through a path of PIN arcs oriented in the direction of this region. Figure 8 shows the influence zones of different regions (centre and primordia) on real (Figure 8A–D) and simulated (Figure 8E–L) PIN maps. In real maps, pumps are distributed in such a way that auxin can reach the central zone from all the directions between each pair of primordia (with a small auxin pathway between primordia P0 and P2, a larger one between primordia P0 and P1 and the largest pathway between P1 and P2). Influence zones of the primordia are restricted to the neighbourhood of each primordium and do not extensively overlap with the cells of the central zone. We then computed the influence zones from the first simulation where the central zone did not act as a sink. This showed important differences with the real maps. For the central zone, only two auxin pathways of equivalent width could be observed while the pathway between P0 and P2 had disappeared (Figure 8E). In addition, the influence zone of P0 largely crossed the meristem centre in 8F in contrast to what was observed on the real map. The influence zones of the simulations with auxin depletion in the centre showed better agreement with the influence zones computed from real PIN maps: with three auxin pathways of gradually increasing width going to the meristem centre and the influence zones of primordia being almost non-overlapping with cells in the central zone (Figure 8I–L). Based on the preceding results, we designed a dynamic model of phyllotaxy using the flux-based polarization hypothesis. The epidermal and subepidermal layers were assumed to be relatively independent, except at the primordia were the two interact by exchanging auxin. This assumption was based on the generally accepted hypothesis that auxin is accumulated in the L1 layer due to the presence of influx carriers of the AUX/LAX family on the cell membranes [7]. This made it possible to simulate auxin transport at the surface and in internal layers separately and to summarize their interactions as boundary conditions. Since in the L1 layer no channels of auxin transport are observed, we supposed that the weak regime prevailed at the surface. For vein formation in inner tissues, we supposed that a strong regime was active. The simulations using the model characteristics described above resulted in a dynamic pattern of auxin distribution and primordium formation. The following general scenario was observed. In the L1 layer, each primordium evacuates auxin by its provascular system to the inner parts of the meristem. In the L1, the primordium can thus be considered as a sink depleting auxin in its immediate neighborhood. This in turn inhibits the formation of new primordia close to the existing ones (Figure 9A). Due to cell growth, primordia progressively move away from each other, which allows the accumulation of auxin in cells sufficiently distant from these young organs. As a result a new maximum of auxin concentration gradually appears in the region maximally separated from all primordia, thus defining the location of the next initium (Figure 9G). As soon as the auxin concentration exceeds a predefined threshold in a cell belonging to the competent zone surrounding the central zone, this cell and its immediate neighbours acquire primordium identity (Figure 9B). This implies that auxin can leak at the initium location into the inner layers, which triggers the creation of the primordium vascular strand (Figure 9H). The vein being formed below the initium drains the auxin out from the L1 layer and converts the initium into an auxin minimum (Figure 9C and 9H). The flux induced by this process reverses pump polarizations in the direction of the initium in the L1 (Figure 9C and 9I). Then, due to tissue growth, new space becomes available allowing the system to generate a new initium (Figure 9D and 9E). This system is able to produce a stable phyllotactic pattern, with a mean angle close to the golden angle, 137°5 (Figure 9F) observed in Arabidopsis and characteristic for spiralled phyllotaxis. An obvious simplication in this model is the assumption that an instant drop in the auxin concentration occurs when cells of L1 acquire primordium identity. However, modifying the rate at which the auxin concentration changes at the initium showed that an immediate drop gives qualitatively the same patterns as a gradual reduction over time (simulation not included). Since this would add another parameter to the model we kept this simplification.
Flux-based polarization provides an alternative explanation for phyllotaxis. Indeed, since it allows for transport with and against gradients, it also provides a plausible explanation for the stable auxin maxima observed in roots and leaves. This is illustrated in Figure 10 where we have reproduced PIN and auxin distributions in the root meristem using the flux based hypothesis. An important caveat is that two different regimes are required in the model. As shown previously by Feugier et al. , only the weak regime can explain the absence of canals as observed at the meristem surface [17]. In this context it is important to note that the weak regime has some characteristics in common with diffusion. In particular, both processes can lead to auxin transport down the gradient. However, as auxin cannot freely diffuse between the cells, the weak regime is fundamentally different and can only function if the cell is able to sense fluxes. As long as the precise mechanism of PIN localisation is not known, it will be difficult to predict whether each regime would require a completely different cellular mechanism which would go against the idea of a unifying concept. However, it seems reasonable to propose that both regimes correspond to different states of the same flux sensing mechanism. We therefore conclude that the flux-based hypothesis remains a potential unifying mechanism for auxin transport throughout the plant. Having established that the flux-based polarization model can reproduce phyllotactic patterns, it now becomes important to test the hypothesis as rigorously as possible. We have made a first step towards this procedure by comparing the predicted PIN protein patterns with the observed ones. While this in itself is a stringent test, so far not performed on other models, the flux-based model should also be coherent with other existing data. In the following paragraphs we will discuss a number of its implications. Like the concentration-based model, the flux-based model requires that the patterning process mainly occurs in the L1 layer. This is based on the idea that auxin is concentrated there by auxin importers (AUX1 and LAX proteins) that are strongly expressed in the L1. In addition, the highly organized distribution of PIN at the meristem surface also indicates that the patterning process mainly occurs in the L1 layer. This might seem contradictory with the phenotypes of mutants where the auxin importers are impaired and which are still able to generate primordia. It should be noted, however, that other factors such as the human multiple drug resistance/P-glycoproteins (MDR/PGPs) are also involved in auxin influx [46] and could guarantee the presence of sufficiently high levels of auxin in the L1 layer when the AUX/LAX proteins are inactivated. We therefore conclude that overall our model is in line with the experimental data supporting a major role of the meristem surface in phyllotaxis. An intriguing aspect of our model concerns the central zone (CZ) cells. Like the concentration-based model, the flux-based model does not require any particular property of this zone, other than a lack of competence to generate a primordium. We could, however, only obtain realistic patterns of PIN distribution when we attributed a sink function to this zone. This is in line with earlier observations by Barbier et al. (2006) who provided evidence that the CZ receives auxin fluxes [10]. However, the sink function of the CZ required by the flux-based model seems in contradiction with the same study showing the presence of relatively high auxin levels there. It is therefore important to note that in the flux-based model the concentration in the CZ is not much lower than in the other peripheral zone cells, and is certainly significantly higher than in the primordium cells. Therefore on average the model would predict higher concentrations in the CZ than in the periphery as reported by Barbier et al. (2006). As a result there does not appear to be any conflict between earlier observations and the flux-based hypothesis. The flux-based model scenario proposes that a relatively broad auxin peak leads to an inward flow which rapidly leads to the formation of an auxin sink. It is the formation of this sink that will reorient the PIN transporters in surrounding cells. This scenario seems in contradiction with earlier observations suggesting that (i) the reorientation of PIN transporters precedes the initiation of the young organ and (ii) that an auxin maximum is maintained at the young primordium. There are several explanation for these apparent contradictions. First, it has not been unambiguously established that the PIN transporters orient before the initiation of the inward flux marked by the formation of the provascular strand. Heisler et al. (2005) showed that there is some reorganisation of PINs before this strand is formed but did not report clear converging transporters [47]. In accordance with this, we have observed the presence of PIN in the internal tissues at a moment where the transporters were not clearly converging (Figure 11). We therefore conclude that the precise timing has not been sufficiently well established to draw clear conclusions. Second, the supposed stable auxin maximum at the young initium has been revealed using the so-called DR5rev promoter driving the green fluorescent protein (GFP). This promoter contains an auxin responsive element and is activated by auxin responsive transcription factors. While it is often presented as a quantitative auxin sensor, it is in fact only a very indirect marker which not only depends on the amount of hormone but also on the capacity of cells to react to it. In addition the fluorescent GFP marker can be stable for prolonged periods, and could therefore mask rapid changes in the activity of the promoter. It is therefore possible that the precise fluctuations in auxin concentrations at the primordium have not been unambiguously established. In addition, DR5rev might not only mark high auxin concentrations but could also be activated by other factors For instance, high levels of another hormone, brassinolide, can activate DR5 in the apparent absence of changes in auxin levels [48]. At this stage, we even cannot exclude that DR5rev reacts to auxin fluxes, although this remains speculative. Interestingly, our simulations show that a flux-based activation of DR5rev would give sharp maxima, very comparable to what is observed in vivo (Figure 12). In this study we have shown that the flux-based polarization model is a plausible alternative to the existing concentration-based model for phyllotaxis. Further experimentation is now required to distinguish between the two models. A careful and quantified description of cell behaviour (e. g. , PIN distribution) should be part of this approach. We are further testing this by using transgenic approaches aimed at modifying the capacity of these cells to transport auxin or by changing the auxin content in the same cells. A major scientific question concerns the actual mechanism involved in auxin transport. Indeed a better insight into the process might also help to validate one or the other polarization hypothesis. It is important to note, that both the flux-based and concentration- based models are obvious abstractions of reality. They both do not, for instance, take into account inter-cellular spaces nor do they indicate how auxin fluxes or auxin concentration gradients are sensed. A process like the flux-based polarization mechanism described here could, therefore, be much more complex than just PIN proteins sensing auxin particles flowing through the cell. What is important here is that the overall behaviour of the system can be described accurately by flux-based polarization model with predicted, testable properties.
Plants continuously generate new organs through the activity of populations of stem cells called meristems. The shoot apical meristem (SAM) initiates leaves, flowers, and lateral organs in highly ordered, spiraled, or whorled arrangements via a process called phyllotaxis. Auxin, a plant hormone, plays an essential role in this process. It is actively transported from cell to cell by specific membrane-associated transporters. In the SAM, this coordinated transport creates organized auxin fluxes resulting in hormone accumulation at precise positions, where organ formation is triggered. One key question in this process is to understand how auxin transport is coordinated. To address this issue, we have investigated a specific hypothesis, the canalization hypothesis, whereby every cell senses and attempts to stabilize existing hormone fluxes. Because such a patterning process would require the interaction of hundreds of cells, it is impossible to estimate on a purely intuitive basis whether it would be able to generate the observed organ positions. We, therefore, developed a computational approach to test this hypothesis and showed that a flux-based mechanism is indeed able to generate phyllotactic patterns and is consistent with biological data describing meristem development.
developmental biology
computer science
developmental biology/plant growth and development
developmental biology/pattern formation
plant biology/plant growth and development
computational biology
Flux-Based Transport Enhancement as a Plausible Unifying Mechanism for Auxin Transport in Meristem Development