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Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2022

Multiple mechanisms behind plant bending

Jonsson, Kristoffer; Ma, Yuan; Routier-Kierzkowska, Anne-Lise; Bhalerao, Rishikesh P.

Abstract

To survive, plants constantly adapt their body shape to their environment. This often involves remarkably rapid bending of their organs such as stems, leaves and roots. Since plant cells are enclosed by stiff cell walls, they use various strategies for bending their organs, which differ from bending mechanisms of soft animal tissues and involve larger physical forces. Here we attempt to summarize and link different viewpoints on bending mechanisms: genes and signalling, mathematical modelling and biomechanics. We argue that quantifying cell growth and physical forces could open a new level in our understanding of bending and resolve some of its paradoxes.

Published in

Nature Plants
2022,
Publisher: NATURE PORTFOLIO

Authors' information

Jonsson, Kristoffer
Universite de Montreal
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology
Routier-Kierzkowska, Anne-Lise
Universite de Montreal
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology

UKÄ Subject classification

Botany

Publication Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01310-y

URI (permanent link to this page)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/120829