Computer simulations reveal novel properties of the cell-cell signaling network at the shoot apex in /Arabidopsis

Pierre Barbier de Reuille (1) , Isabelle Bohn-Courseau , Karen Ljung (2) , Halima Morin , Nicola Carraro (3) , Christophe Godin (1, 4) , Jan Traas

1 UMR AMAP - Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations
2 Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology
3 DEI - Dipartimento di Ingegneria de l'Informazione [Padova]
4 VIRTUAL PLANTS - Modeling plant morphogenesis at different scales, from genes to phenotype

The active transport of the plant hormone auxin plays a major role in the initiation of organs at the shoot apex. Polar localized membrane proteins of the PIN1 family facilitate this transport, and recent observations suggest that auxin maxima created by these proteins are at the basis of organ initiation. This hypothesis is based on the visual, qualitative characterization of the complex distribution patterns of the PIN1 protein in Arabidopsis. To take these analyses further, we investigated the properties of the patterns using computational modeling. The simulations reveal previously undescribed properties of PIN1 distribution. In particular, they suggest an important role for the meristem summit in the distribution of auxin. We confirm these predictions by further experimentation and propose a detailed model for the dynamics of auxin fluxes at the shoot apex.

Mots clés: Auxin; Modeling; Shoot meristem

Domaines: Evolution [q-bio.PE]

Pierre Barbier de Reuille, Isabelle Bohn-Courseau, Karen Ljung, Halima Morin, Nicola Carraro, et al.. Computer simulations reveal novel properties of the cell-cell signaling network at the shoot apex in /Arabidopsis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006, 103 (5) (5), p. 1627-1632. ⟨10.1073/pnas.0510130103⟩. ⟨hal-00023247⟩