A fibre-reinforced fluid model of anisotropic plant cell growth

Many growing plant cells undergo rapid axial elongation with negligible radial expansion. Growth is driven by high internal turgor pressure causing viscous stretching of the cell wall, with embedded cellulose microfibrils providing the wall with strongly anisotropic properties. We present a theoreti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fluid mechanics 2010-07, Vol.655, p.472-503
Main Authors: DYSON, R. J., JENSEN, O. E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Asymptotic properties
Biological and medical sciences
Cell growth
Cellulose
Elongation
Fiber composites
Fibre
Flow velocity
Fluid mechanics
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Plant growth
Plant physiology and development
Viscosity
Walls
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Summary:Many growing plant cells undergo rapid axial elongation with negligible radial expansion. Growth is driven by high internal turgor pressure causing viscous stretching of the cell wall, with embedded cellulose microfibrils providing the wall with strongly anisotropic properties. We present a theoretical model of a growing cell, representing the primary cell wall as a thin axisymmetric fibre-reinforced viscous sheet supported between rigid end plates. Asymptotic reduction of the governing equations, under simple sets of assumptions about the fibre and wall properties, yields variants of the traditional Lockhart equation, which relates the axial cell growth rate to the internal pressure. The model provides insights into the geometric and biomechanical parameters underlying bulk quantities such as wall extensibility, and shows how either dynamical changes in wall material properties or passive fibre reorientation may suppress cell elongation.
ISSN:0022-1120
1469-7645
DOI:10.1017/S002211201000100X