Modeling Polar Growth of Plant Cell Walls

摘要

Finite element analysis is a numerical technique for modeling the behavior and mechanics of physical systems, especially complicated systems that change over time, such as load-bearing structures (it is used extensively in civil engineering and aeronautics), but also fluid flow, weather patterns, and a variety of other phenomena. The method involves finding approximate solutions to complex problems, which allows for modeling the behavior of structures with complicated geometry and material properties. Given this description, it is no surprise that finite element analysis might be a good approach for modeling the behavior of plant cell growth. Fayant et al. (pages 2579–2593) explore the use of finite element analysis to model the polar growth of pollen tubes. The authors argue that understanding the biomechanical underpinnings of cellular growth will help to focus attention on key biochemical and molecular pathways that govern this process. The resulting model shows how the distribution of mechanical properties at the pollen tube apex controls its shape and growth and further predicts that the biochemical properties of pectin play a key role in determining cell shape.