# The asymmetry engine: how plants harness asymmetries to shape their bodies

## TL;DR

This paper explains how plants use growth asymmetry, influenced by hormones and environmental cues, to shape their bodies and adapt to their surroundings.

## Contribution

The paper introduces the concept of growth asymmetry as a dynamic mechanism regulated by biochemical and physical interactions in plant development.

## Key findings

- External cues like light and gravity, along with internal signals, drive growth asymmetry in plants.
- Auxin distribution and transport are central to orchestrating growth asymmetry.
- Mechanochemical feedback loops, such as apical hook formation, amplify growth asymmetries.

## Abstract

Plant development depends on growth asymmetry to establish body plans and adapt to environmental stimuli. We explore how plants initiate, propagate, and regulate organ‐wide growth asymmetries. External cues, such as light and gravity, and internal signals, including stochastic cellular growth variability, drive these asymmetries. The plant hormone auxin orchestrates growth asymmetry through its distribution and transport. Mechanochemical feedback loops, exemplified by apical hook formation, further amplify growth asymmetries, illustrating the dynamic interplay between biochemical signals and physical forces. Growth asymmetry itself can serve as a continuous cue, influencing subsequent growth decisions. By examining specific cellular programs and their responses to asymmetric cues, we propose that the decision to either amplify or dampen these asymmetries is key to shaping plant organs.