JXB Advance Access originally published online on April 12, 2007
Journal of Experimental Botany 2008 59(1):45-53; doi:10.1093/jxb/erm060
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SPECIAL ISSUE REVIEW PAPER |
Computer models of auxin transport: a review and commentary
Physics Department, Simon's Rock College, Great Barrington, MA 01230, USA
* E-mail: ekramer{at}simons-rock.edu
With the recent proliferation of computer models of auxin transport, it is important that plant biologists understand something about these techniques and how to evaluate them. The paper begins with a brief introduction to the parts of a computer model, followed by a discussion of the limitations of the most common auxin modelling technique. Lastly, several recent models of organ initiation in the shoot apical meristem (i.e. phyllotaxis) are reviewed. The cell and molecular biology of phyllotaxis is now understood well enough that computer models can go beyond a simple proof of principle and start to provide insights into gene function.
Key words: AUX1, auxin, computer model, phyllotaxis, PIN1, plant development
Received 10 January 2007; Revised 25 February 2007 Accepted 2 March 2007