Computer modelling upgrades systems biology
With a system's biology approach, the 'Integrating modelling into plant systems biology: Applications to auxin-driven plant morphogenesis' (Plantsysmodel) project focused on the role of polar auxin transport in flower and leaf patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana). To date, molecular networks involving auxin are well understood as are the effects of auxin flux and associated gene expression in the leaf, for example. What is missing is an appreciation of the mechanisms linking the two – that is, individual cell behaviour and leaf patterning at the tissue level. Plantsysmodel proposed a travelling-wave model for formation of the leaf mid-vein. The model was then refined adding the input of auxin influx carrier AUX1. Cell differentiation or specialisation of a cell to separate the L1 surface layers of the leaf from deeper layers also features in the model. Various contributions from collaborations with other researchers will add to the model. One control mechanism to be incorporated is for cell cycle regulation by SHORTROOT and SCARECROW genes. Another collaborative effort between Plantsysmodel and other researchers at Wageningen University, in the Netherlands has developed a model for the auxin-driven flower patterning in A. thaliana. Computer modelling of the individual biochemical cascades can identify the gaps to stimulate new ideas for future research pathways. The holistic approach adopted by Plantsysmodel has developed models to show how all the components of the plant interact to give a complete picture of development and physiology.
