3D imaging and mechanical modeling of helical buckling in Medicago truncatula plant roots
Open Access
- 24 September 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 109 (42), 16794-16799
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1209287109
Abstract
We study the primary root growth of wild-type Medicago truncatula plants in heterogeneous environments using 3D time-lapse imaging. The growth medium is a transparent hydrogel consisting of a stiff lower layer and a compliant upper layer. We find that the roots deform into a helical shape just above the gel layer interface before penetrating into the lower layer. This geometry is interpreted as a combination of growth-induced mechanical buckling modulated by the growth medium and a simultaneous twisting near the root tip. We study the helical morphology as the modulus of the upper gel layer is varied and demonstrate that the size of the deformation varies with gel stiffness as expected by a mathematical model based on the theory of buckled rods. Moreover, we show that plant-to-plant variations can be accounted for by biomechanically plausible values of the model parameters.This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
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