Modelling the development of phyllotactic patterns at the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana

The study of phyllotactic patterns have a long history, but the bulk
of our detailed understanding of developmental processes in plants
comes from research conducted in the last thirty or forty years. New
modern techniques have made it possible to study plants in ways that
previously was not possible. Using confocal microscopy it is possible
to generate three-dimensional stacks of images of a plant, and series
of stacks makes it possible to follow the development in time. In
combination with biological markers, gene and protein expression
patterns can be followed both in time and space. This new type of data
plays an important role in the modern development of mathematical and
computational models of developmental processes in plants.

In this thesis we study different aspects of the development of
phyllotactic patterns at the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis
thaliana; the self-regulating feedback network of the WUSCHEL and
CLAVATA genes, anisotropic growth of plant cells, cell division in the
epidermal layer of the meristem, and intercellular transport of the
plant hormone auxin. A systems biology approach is taken to make
models from experimental data. All models are represented
mathematically by ordinary differential equations and a toolbox of
both analytical, numerical, and statistical methods is used to analyse
the models. Using computer simulations and the following data analysis
we provide predictions that can be tested in experiments.