Unidirectional versus bidirectional brushing: Simulating wind influence on Arabidopsis thaliana.

Area of Science:

• Plant Biology
• Biomechanics
• Thigmomorphogenesis

Background:

• Plants respond to mechanical stress through thigmomorphogenesis and changes in mechanical properties.
• Wind-induced responses are often mimicked by mechanical perturbations, but direct extrapolation is not always accurate.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if wind-induced morphological and biomechanical changes in *Arabidopsis thaliana* can be replicated using vectorial brushing treatments.
• To analyze the effects of directional mechanical stimuli on plant stem traits.

Main Methods:

• Subjected *Arabidopsis thaliana* to two distinct vectorial brushing treatments.
• Assessed changes in stem length, mechanical properties, and anatomical tissue composition.
• Compared brushing-induced changes with known wind-induced responses.

Main Results:

• Both brushing treatments significantly altered stem length, mechanical properties, and tissue composition.
• Some morphological changes aligned with wind-induced responses.
• Mechanical property changes showed opposite trends compared to wind effects, regardless of brushing direction.

Conclusions:

• Vectorial brushing can partially mimic wind-induced morphological changes in *Arabidopsis thaliana* stems.
• Mechanical property alterations due to brushing do not consistently reflect wind effects.
• Careful design of mechanical perturbation is crucial for accurately simulating wind responses, including positive tropic responses.