Computer Models How Buds Grow Into Leaves Posted on March 02,
2012 at 08:24:51 am "A bud does not grow in all directions at
the same rate," said Samantha Fox from the John Innes Centre on
Norwich Research Park. "Otherwise leaves would be domed like a
bud, not flat with a pointed tip." By creating a computer model
to grow a virtual leaf, the BBSRC-funded scientists managed to
discover simple rules of leaf growth. -ADVERTISEMENT-Similar to
the way a compass works, plant cells have an inbuilt orientation
system. Instead of a magnetic field, the cells have molecular
signals to guide the axis on which they grow. As plant tissues
deform during growth, the orientation and axis changes. The
molecular signals become patterned from an early stage within
the bud, helping the leaf shape to emerge. The researchers
filmed a growing Arabidopsis leaf, a relative of oil seed rape,
to help create a model which could simulate the growing process.
They were able to film individual cells and track them as the
plant grew. It was a