On the mechanical origins of waving, coiling and skewing in Arabidopsis thaliana roots

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Porat, Amir; Tekinalp, Arman; Bhosale, Yashraj; Gazzola, Mattia; Meroz, Yasmine
• 署名单位: Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv University; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Tel Aviv University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-13063
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312761121
• 发表日期: 2024-03-12
• 关键词: growth movements; plant-roots; gravitropism; responses; circumnutation; BEHAVIOR; reveals; surface; roles

摘要

By masterfully balancing directed growth and passive mechanics, plant roots are remarkably capable of navigating complex heterogeneous environments to find resources. Here, we present a theoretical and numerical framework which allows us to interrogate and simulate the mechanical impact of solid interfaces on the growth pattern of plant organs. We focus on the well-known waving, coiling, and skewing patterns exhibited by roots of Arabidopsis thaliana when grown on inclined surfaces, serving as a minimal model of the intricate interplay with solid substrates. By modeling growing slender organs as Cosserat rods that mechanically interact with the environment, our simulations verify hypotheses of waving and coiling arising from the combination of active gravitropism and passive root-plane responses. Skewing is instead related to intrinsic twist due to cell file rotation. Numerical investigations are outfitted with an analytical framework that consistently relates transitions between straight, waving, coiling, and skewing patterns with substrate tilt angle. Simulations are found to corroborate theory and recapitulate a host of reported experimental observations, thus providing a systematic approach for studying in silico plant organs behavior in relation to their environment.