MorphoDynamX
MO
An integrated image processing and simulation platform
Updated 1 day ago
By Pakorn Kanchanawong, National University of Singapore and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health; and Clare Waterman, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health - http://images.nigms.nih.gov/index.cfm?event=viewDetail&imageID=3611, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47090499
Plant cells exhibit diverse shapes and structures due to their surrounding cell walls, which support essential functions such as protection, mechanical strength, and water transport. These properties benefit humans directly (e.g., material properties of wood and fibers used in clothing) and indirectly through their importance for plant (crop) health and resilience. The required cell wall structures arise with mutual feedback between cortical microtubules and the cell wall’s mechanical properties.
This project aims to integrate and extend two established software tools — CorticalSim, for simulating plant cortical microtubules, and MorphoMechanX, for modeling cell wall mechanics and physically based growth. The combined software will provide insights into the fundamental processes of plant growth. The specific application for this project is the difference between straight and twisted plant growth. The software will be made easily accessible to both expert and novice users, including experimentalists, thus providing a valuable resource for the global plant community.