Mechanism of Pattern Formation in Plants

保罗·B·格林9603705植物中产生枝条模式的发育机制出于实践和理论的原因而引起人们的兴趣。实用的方面涉及植物的分枝和物理稳定性以及果实或谷物的产量，这反映了生产它的花的模式。理论方面涉及到这样一个事实，即植物只表现出两种中心图案：像蝴蝶花那样的轮生，以及像松果那样的交叉螺旋。为什么只有这两条，其中一条(螺旋线)涉及黄金分割(1：0.618)，长期以来在数学中被称为特殊的无理分数？这笔赠款是为了进一步确定，解释在于产生侧器官的组织的物理折叠，无论是枝条、花瓣、花等，在植物的顶部。测试这一想法需要高等数学，但它在当前工程分析方法的范围内。

Paul B. Green 9603705 The developmental mechanisms producing shoot patterns in plants are of interest for practical and theoretical reasons. The practical side involves branching and the physical stability of the plant as well as the yield of fruit or grain, which reflects the pattern in the flower producing it. The theoretical side relates to the fact that plants show only two centric patterns: whorls as in the iris flower, and crossed spirals as in the pine cone. Why only these two, with one of them (spirals) involving the golden section (1:0.618), long known as special irrational fraction in mathematics? This grant is to further establish that the explanation lies in the physical folding of tissue that occurs to produce the lateral organ, be it a limb, petal, flower, etc., at the top of the plant. Testing this idea requires advanced mathematics, but it is in range of current engineering analytical approaches.