Computational modeling of cellular morphogenesis and shape functionality in plants

植物的发育和功能是由组成生物体的组织和细胞的形状和分化决定的。与动物细胞不同，植物细胞被一个坚硬的基质，即细胞壁所包围。因此，细胞发育过程，如细胞大小的增加和细胞形状的变化需要这种聚合物壁的机械变形。反过来，细胞壁的机械性质决定了分化细胞的几何形状。许多注意力已经投入到整体细胞形状的变化，如发生在圆柱形干细胞或根细胞的伸长。然而，我们有一个贫穷的理解的机械原理，管理复杂的细胞几何形状的产生，如星形毛状体或拼图形状的叶表皮细胞。传统的数值建模方法是无法科普这种程度的复杂性，我建议使用分析工具开发的应用在机械工程中，结合一系列的定量实验方法，模拟机械过程，确定植物细胞生长，并确定细胞形状如何影响细胞功能。该研究计划将细胞生物学方法与微机械工程和计算建模相结合。

Plant development and functioning are determined by the shape and differentiation of the tissues and cells composing the organism. Unlike animal cells, plant cells are surrounded by a stiff matrix, the cell wall. Consequently, cell developmental processes such as increase in cell size and change in cell shape require the mechanical deformation of this polymer wall. In turn, the mechanical properties of the cell wall determine the geometry of the differentiating cell. Much attention has been devoted to overall cell shape changes such as those occurring during the elongation of cylindrical stem or root cells. However, we have a poor understanding of the mechanical principles that govern the generation of complex cellular geometries such as those of star-shaped trichomes or jigsaw puzzle shaped leaf epidermis cells. Conventional numerical modeling methods are unable to cope with this degree of complexity and I propose to use analytic tools developed for applications in mechanical engineering, in combination with an array of quantitative experimental approaches, to model the mechanical processes that determine plant cell growth and to determine how cell shape influences cell function. This research program combines cell biological approaches with micromechanical engineering and computational modeling.