Tissue growth constrains root organ outlines into an isometrically scalable shape.

ABSTRACT: Organ morphologies are diverse but also conserved under shared developmental constraints among species. Any geometrical similarities in the shape behind diversity and the underlying developmental constraints remain unclear. Plant root tip outlines commonly exhibit a dome shape, which likely performs physiological functions, despite the diversity in size and cellular organization among distinct root classes and/or species. We carried out morphometric analysis of the primary roots of ten angiosperm species and of the lateral roots (LRs) of Arabidopsis, and found that each root outline was isometrically scaled onto a parameter-free catenary curve, a stable structure adopted for arch bridges. Using the physical model for bridges, we analogized that localized and spatially uniform occurrence of

SUBMITTER: Fujiwara M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7929931 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature