A continuous growth model for plant tissue.

Area of Science:

• Computational biology
• Plant morphogenesis
• Biomechanical modeling

Background:

• Plant morphogenesis involves complex deformations driven by cell wall mechanics.
• Existing models often lack integrated mechanical and morphogen signaling or robust handling of cell division.
• Accurate modeling requires considering anisotropic/heterogeneous elasticity and cell-specific mechanical variables.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel computational model for plant tissue growth.
• To integrate mechanical signals (turgor pressure, stress, strain) and morphogen signals.
• To accurately simulate growth, including cell division and material property changes.

Main Methods:

• Developed a continuous equation for updating tissue resting configuration.
• Implemented a multi-timescale update for material properties.
• Validated model stability through spatial discretization convergence tests.
• Confirmed accuracy in 2D and 3D simulations, assessing residual stresses.

Main Results:

• The model successfully simulates plant tissue growth, incorporating cell division.
• It maintains strain fields during re-meshing, crucial for modeling cell division.
• Residual stresses are reduced when strain or stress signals are used for growth regulation.
• Model provides updated mechanical variables for feedback into growth and material properties.

Conclusions:

• The developed model offers a robust framework for simulating plant morphogenesis.
• It enables comparative analysis of different growth hypotheses.
• The model's ability to update residual stresses is vital for realistic biomechanical simulations.