Relieving the transfusion tissue traffic jam: a network model of radial transport in conifer needles.

ABSTRACT: Characteristic of all conifer needles, the transfusion tissue mediates the radial transport of water and sugar between the endodermis and axial vasculature. Physical constraints imposed by the needle's linear geometry introduce two potential extravascular bottlenecks where the opposition of sugar and water flows may frustrate sugar export: one at the vascular access point and the other at the endodermis. We developed a network model of the transfusion tissue to explore how its structure and composition affect the delivery of sugars to the axial phloem. To describe extravascular transport with cellular resolution, we construct networks from images of Pinus pinea needles obtained through tomographic microscopy, as well as fluorescence and electron microscopy. The transfusion tissue provides

SUBMITTER: Mai MH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11579439 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature