Home page > Seminars > Previous seminars > Seminars 2011 > MSC Seminar 2011 March 7th at 11:30. Arezki Boudaoud (ENS Lyon) : The morphogenesis of vasculature in leaves: theory and experiments.
Unless otherwise stated, seminars and defences take place at 11:30 in room 454A of Condorcet building.
Development commonly involves an interplay between signaling, genetic expression and biophysical forces. However, the relative importance of these mechanisms during the different stages of development is unclear. Leaf vasculature provide a fitting context for the examination of these questions. In mature leaves, venation patterns are extremely diverse, yet their local structure seems to be universal. Using a cell proliferation model, we reproduce in silico the salient features of venation patterns. Provided that vein cells are given different mechanical properties, tensile forces develop along the veins during growth, causing the network to deform progressively. Our results suggest that the local structure of venation networks results from a reorganization driven by mechanical forces, independently of how veins form. This conclusion is supported by observations of vein development in young leaves, by the quantitative agreement between our simulations and data from mature leaves and by the the results of the application of external forces on mature leaves.
Contact : Équipe séminaires / Seminar team - Published on / Publié le 28 February 2011
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