Distance Maps and Plant Development #2: Facilitated Transport and Uniform Gradient

TL;DR

This paper develops a non-linear biophysical model of auxin transport in plants, explaining complex developmental patterns such as vein formation and leaf primordium emergence through a uniform principle of gradient minimization.

Contribution

It introduces a novel non-linear model based on the Constant Gradient Hypothesis, enhancing understanding of auxin transport and plant development mechanisms.

Findings

Model explains PIN1 expression patterns in embryo

Describes formation of leaf primordia and convergence points

Reveals how vein patterns emerge in Arabidopsis leaves

Abstract

The principles underlying plant development are extended to allow a more molecular mechanism to elaborate the schema by which ground cells differentiate into vascular cells. Biophysical considerations dictate that linear dynamics are not sufficent to capture facilitated auxin transport (e.g., through PIN). We group these transport facilitators into a non-linear model under the assumption that they attempt to minimize certain {\em differences} of auxin concentration. This Constant Gradient Hypothesis greatly increases the descriptive power of our model to include complex dynamical behaviour. Specifically, we show how the early pattern of PIN1 expression appears in the embryo, how the leaf primordium emerges, how convergence points arise on the leaf margin, how the first loop is formed, and how the intricate pattern of PIN shifts during the early establishment of vein patterns in incipient leaves of Arabidopsis. Given our results, we submit that the model provides evidence that many of the salient structural characteristics that have been described at various stages of plant development can arise from the uniform application of a small number of abstract principles.