AOBPreview published online on August 22, 2007
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mcm171
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rhythms and Alternating Patterns in Plants as Emergent Properties of a Model of Interaction between Development and Functioning
1 Ecole Centrale Paris, Laboratoire de Mathématiques Appliquées aux Systèmes, Grande Voie des Vignes, 92295 Chatenay Malabry, France
2 INRA, Umr AMAP, TA A-51//PS2, Boulevard de la Lironde, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
3 CIRAD, Umr AMAP, TA A-51//PS2, Boulevard de la Lironde, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
4 INRIA, Digiplante, BP 105, 78153 Le Chesnay Cedex, France
* For correspondence. E-mail mathieu{at}mas.ecp.fr
Received: 31 January 2007 Returned for revision: 2 April 2007 Accepted: 25 May 2007
Background and Aims: To model plasticity of plants in their environment, a new version of the functional–structural model GreenLab has been developed with full interactions between architecture and functioning. Emergent properties of this model were revealed by simulations, in particular the automatic generation of rhythms in plant development. Such behaviour can be observed in natural phenomena such as the appearance of fruit (cucumber or capsicum plants, for example) or branch formation in trees.
Methods: In the model, a single variable, the source–sink ratio controls different events in plant architecture. In particular, the number of fruits and branch formation are determined as increasing functions of this ratio. For some sets of well-chosen parameters of the model, the dynamical evolution of the ratio during plant growth generates rhythms.
Key Results and Conclusions: Cyclic patterns in branch formation or fruit appearance emerge without being forced by the model. The model is based on the theory of discrete dynamical systems. The mathematical formalism helps us to explain rhythm generation and to control the behaviour of the system. Rhythms can appear during both the exponential and stabilized phases of growth, but the causes are different as shown by an analytical study of the system. Simulated plant behaviours are very close to those observed on real plants. With a small number of parameters, the model gives very interesting results from a qualitative point of view. It will soon be subjected to experimental data to estimate the model parameters.
Key words: Rhythms, plasticity, plant growth model, GreenLab, interactions, branching system, fructification, emergent properties
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. M. Wubs, Y. Ma, E. Heuvelink, and L. F. M. Marcelis Genetic differences in fruit-set patterns are determined by differences in fruit sink strength and a source : sink threshold for fruit set Ann. Bot., October 1, 2009; 104(5): 957 - 964. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Mathieu, P. H. Cournede, V. Letort, D. Barthelemy, and P. de Reffye A dynamic model of plant growth with interactions between development and functional mechanisms to study plant structural plasticity related to trophic competition Ann. Bot., June 1, 2009; 103(8): 1173 - 1186. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. Fourcaud, X. Zhang, A. Stokes, H. Lambers, and C. Korner Plant Growth Modelling and Applications: The Increasing Importance of Plant Architecture in Growth Models Ann. Bot., May 1, 2008; 101(8): 1053 - 1063. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|