In the shoot apical meristem a population of stem cells are maintained throughout the life of a plant. Gene regulatory networks, hormone signaling and mechanical forces determine meristem dynamics and maintenance. Our aim is to understand how these mechanistic modules are integrated, producing a coordinated differentiation and morphogenesis. To address this we employ the method of Computational Morphodynamics, where live-imaging of the stem cell niche is combined with mathematical modeling for iteratively improving the understanding of growth and differentiation. I will show how models based on mechanics can lead to patterning and provide input to basic rules of cell growth. Also, I will show how the tissue geometry affects the gene regulatory network patterning process resulting in an adaptive scaling mechanism.
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