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Auxin transport model for leaf venation.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Article

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Authors

Haskovec, Jan 
Jönsson, Henrik 
Kreusser, Lisa Maria  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1131-1125
Markowich, Peter 

Abstract

The plant hormone auxin controls many aspects of the development of plants. One striking dynamical feature is the self-organization of leaf venation patterns which is driven by high levels of auxin within vein cells. The auxin transport is mediated by specialized membrane-localized proteins. Many venation models have been based on polarly localized efflux-mediator proteins of the PIN family. Here, we investigate a modelling framework for auxin transport with a positive feedback between auxin fluxes and transport capacities that are not necessarily polar, i.e. directional across a cell wall. Our approach is derived from a discrete graph-based model for biological transportation networks, where cells are represented by graph nodes and intercellular membranes by edges. The edges are not a priori oriented and the direction of auxin flow is determined by its concentration gradient along the edge. We prove global existence of solutions to the model and the validity of Murray's Law for its steady states. Moreover, we demonstrate with numerical simulations that the model is able connect an auxin source-sink pair with a mid-vein and that it can also produce branching vein patterns. A significant innovative aspect of our approach is that it allows the passage to a formal macroscopic limit which can be extended to include network growth. We perform mathematical analysis of the macroscopic formulation, showing the global existence of weak solutions for an appropriate parameter range.

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Keywords

continuum limit, mathematical modelling, numerical simulation, weak solutions

Journal Title

Proc Math Phys Eng Sci

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1364-5021
1471-2946

Volume Title

475

Publisher

The Royal Society

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
EPSRC (1648823)
EPSRC (1648823)
Gatsby Charitable Foundation (GAT3395/PR4)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L016516/1)
HJ is supported by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation (grant GAT3395-PR4). LMK is supported by the EPSRC grant EP/L016516/1 and the German National Academic Foundation.
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