RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Morphological plant modeling: Unleashing geometric and topologic potential within the plant sciences
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 078832
DO 10.1101/078832
A1 Alexander Bucksch
A1 Acheampong Atta-Boateng
A1 Akomian Fortuné Azihou
A1 Mathilde Balduzzi
A1 Dorjsuren Battogtokh
A1 Aly Baumgartner
A1 Brad M. Binder
A1 Siobhan A. Braybrook
A1 Cynthia Chang
A1 Viktoirya Coneva
A1 Thomas J. DeWitt
A1 Alexander G. Fletcher
A1 Malia A. Gehan
A1 Diego Hernan Diaz-Martinez
A1 Lilan Hong
A1 Anjali S. Iyer-Pascuzzi
A1 Laura L. Klein
A1 Samuel Leiboff
A1 Mao Li
A1 Jonathan P. Lynch
A1 Alexis Maizel
A1 Julin N. Maloof
A1 R.J. Cody Markelz
A1 Ciera C. Martinez
A1 Laura A. Miller
A1 Washington Mio
A1 Wojtek Palubicki
A1 Hendrik Poorter
A1 Christophe Pradal
A1 Charles A. Price
A1 Eetu Puttonen
A1 John Reese
A1 Rubén Rellán-Álvarez
A1 Edgar P. Spalding
A1 Erin E. Sparks
A1 Christopher N. Topp
A1 Joseph Williams
A1 Daniel H. Chitwood
YR 2016
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/10/04/078832.abstract
AB Plant morphology is inherently mathematical. The geometries of leaves and flowers and intricate topologies of the root have fascinated plant biologists and mathematicians alike. Beyond providing aesthetic inspiration, understanding plant morphology has become pressing in an era of climate change and a growing population. Gaining an understanding of how to modify plant architecture through molecular biology and breeding is critical to improving agriculture, and the monitoring of ecosystems and global vegetation is vital to modeling a future with fewer natural resources. In this white paper, we begin by summarizing the rich history and state of the art in quantifying the form of plants, mathematical models of patterning in plants, and how plant morphology manifests dynamically across disparate scales of biological organization. We then explore the fundamental challenges that remain unanswered concerning plant morphology, from the barriers preventing the prediction of phenotype from genotype to modeling the fluttering of leaves in a light breeze. We end with a discussion concerning the education of plant morphology synthesizing biological and mathematical approaches and ways to facilitate research advances through outreach, cross-disciplinary training, and open science. Never has the need to model plant morphology been more imperative. Unleashing the potential of geometric and topological approaches in the plant sciences promises to transform our understanding of both plants and mathematics.