Self-organisation at the whole-plant level: a modelling study

Within-plant light and nutrient environments are spatially and temporally heterogeneous. The development of different parts of a plant is highly coordinated, which enables the efficient capture and use of resources in such heterogeneous environments. The physiological mechanisms underlying the correlative control of distantly located plant tissues and organs are still not fully understood. In this study, a mathematical model based on a self-organisation mechanism for resource allocation mediated by polar auxin transport is proposed to explain the origin of correlative effects among shoot branches. In the model, the shoot system of an individual plant is treated as a collection of relatively independent modular subunits competing for root-derived resources. The allocation of root-derived resources to different parts of the shoot is determined by their relative vascular contacts with the root system. The development of the vascular network is specified by the polar transport of auxin produced by various parts of the shoot in response to their immediate internal and external environments. The simulation results show that, by altering the amount of auxin they release individually in response to the local environment and modifying their relative vascular contact with the root system, subunits of a shoot are able to coordinate without a central controller and self-organise into functional and structural patterns such as light foraging and correlative dominance. This modelling study suggests that morphological dynamics at the whole-plant level can be understood as the sum of all modular responses to their local environments. The concept of self-organisation holds great promise for an in-depth understanding of the organisational laws that generate overall plant structure and functions.