Frontiers in Plant Science (Jun 2017)
Morphological Plant Modeling: Unleashing Geometric and Topological Potential within the Plant Sciences
- Alexander Bucksch,
- Alexander Bucksch,
- Alexander Bucksch,
- Acheampong Atta-Boateng,
- Akomian F. Azihou,
- Dorjsuren Battogtokh,
- Aly Baumgartner,
- Brad M. Binder,
- Siobhan A. Braybrook,
- Cynthia Chang,
- Viktoirya Coneva,
- Thomas J. DeWitt,
- Alexander G. Fletcher,
- Malia A. Gehan,
- Diego Hernan Diaz-Martinez,
- Lilan Hong,
- Anjali S. Iyer-Pascuzzi,
- Laura L. Klein,
- Samuel Leiboff,
- Mao Li,
- Jonathan P. Lynch,
- Alexis Maizel,
- Julin N. Maloof,
- R. J. Cody Markelz,
- Ciera C. Martinez,
- Laura A. Miller,
- Washington Mio,
- Wojtek Palubicki,
- Hendrik Poorter,
- Christophe Pradal,
- Charles A. Price,
- Eetu Puttonen,
- Eetu Puttonen,
- John B. Reese,
- Rubén Rellán-Álvarez,
- Edgar P. Spalding,
- Erin E. Sparks,
- Christopher N. Topp,
- Joseph H. Williams,
- Daniel H. Chitwood
Affiliations
- Alexander Bucksch
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, AthensGA, United States
- Alexander Bucksch
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, AthensGA, United States
- Alexander Bucksch
- Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, AthensGA, United States
- Acheampong Atta-Boateng
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New HavenCT, United States
- Akomian F. Azihou
- Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-CalaviCotonou, Benin
- Dorjsuren Battogtokh
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, BlacksburgVA, United States
- Aly Baumgartner
- Department of Geosciences, Baylor University, WacoTX, United States
- Brad M. Binder
- Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, KnoxvilleTN, United States
- Siobhan A. Braybrook
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of CambridgeCambridge, United Kingdom
- Cynthia Chang
- 0Division of Biology, University of Washington, BothellWA, United States
- Viktoirya Coneva
- 1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. LouisMO, United States
- Thomas J. DeWitt
- 2Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences–Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College StationTX, United States
- Alexander G. Fletcher
- 3School of Mathematics and Statistics and Bateson Centre, University of SheffieldSheffield, United Kingdom
- Malia A. Gehan
- 1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. LouisMO, United States
- Diego Hernan Diaz-Martinez
- 4Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, TallahasseeFL, United States
- Lilan Hong
- 5Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and Section of Plant Biology, School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Cornell University, IthacaNY, United States
- Anjali S. Iyer-Pascuzzi
- 6Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West LafayetteIN, United States
- Laura L. Klein
- 7Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, St. LouisMO, United States
- Samuel Leiboff
- 8School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, IthacaNY, United States
- Mao Li
- 4Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, TallahasseeFL, United States
- Jonathan P. Lynch
- 9Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University ParkPA, United States
- Alexis Maizel
- 0Center for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg UniversityHeidelberg, Germany
- Julin N. Maloof
- 1Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, DavisCA, United States
- R. J. Cody Markelz
- 1Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, DavisCA, United States
- Ciera C. Martinez
- 2Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, BerkeleyCA, United States
- Laura A. Miller
- 3Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, The University of North Carolina, Chapel HillNC, United States
- Washington Mio
- 4Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, TallahasseeFL, United States
- Wojtek Palubicki
- The Sainsbury Laboratory, University of CambridgeCambridge, United Kingdom
- Hendrik Poorter
- 4Plant Sciences (IBG-2), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, JülichGermany
- Christophe Pradal
- 5CIRAD, UMR AGAP, INRIA, VirtualPlantsMontpellier, France
- Charles A. Price
- 6National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, KnoxvilleTN, United States
- Eetu Puttonen
- 7Department of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry, Finnish Geospatial Research Institute, National Land Survey of FinlandMasala, Finland
- Eetu Puttonen
- 8Centre of Excellence in Laser Scanning Research, National Land Survey of FinlandMasala, Finland
- John B. Reese
- 9Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, KnoxvilleTN, United States
- Rubén Rellán-Álvarez
- 0Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV)Irapuato, Mexico
- Edgar P. Spalding
- 1Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin–Madison, MadisonWI, United States
- Erin E. Sparks
- 2Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, NewarkDE, United States
- Christopher N. Topp
- 1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. LouisMO, United States
- Joseph H. Williams
- 9Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, KnoxvilleTN, United States
- Daniel H. Chitwood
- 1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. LouisMO, United States
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00900
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 8
Abstract
The geometries and topologies of leaves, flowers, roots, shoots, and their arrangements have fascinated plant biologists and mathematicians alike. As such, plant morphology is inherently mathematical in that it describes plant form and architecture with geometrical and topological techniques. Gaining an understanding of how to modify plant morphology, through molecular biology and breeding, aided by a mathematical perspective, is critical to improving agriculture, and the monitoring of ecosystems is vital to modeling a future with fewer natural resources. In this white paper, we begin with an overview in quantifying the form of plants and mathematical models of patterning in plants. We then explore the fundamental challenges that remain unanswered concerning plant morphology, from the barriers preventing the prediction of phenotype from genotype to modeling the movement of leaves in air streams. We end with a discussion concerning the education of plant morphology synthesizing biological and mathematical approaches and ways to facilitate research advances through outreach, cross-disciplinary training, and open science. Unleashing the potential of geometric and topological approaches in the plant sciences promises to transform our understanding of both plants and mathematics.
Keywords
