title: Implications of a zinc uptake and transport model.
abstract: While physicists regularly use mathematical equations to describe natural phenomena, mathematical modeling of biological systems is still not well established and is hampered by communication barriers between experimental and theoretical biologists. In a recent study we developed a mathematical model of zinc uptake and radial transport in Arabidopsis thaliana roots. By refraining from writing many equations in the main text and confining the derivation of formulas to a supplemental file, we attempted to reach both experimentalists and theoreticians likewise. Here, we give a short summary of our results on the accumulation pattern of zinc and the importance of transporter regulation, water flow and geometry. For a better understanding of the dynamics of adaptation to changes in external conditions, we plead for more detailed and frequent measurements. As a new aspect, we analyzed the effect of buffering. Simulations indicate that it dampens oscillations and may therefore play a key role in zinc homeostasis.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing; Universität Heidelberg; Heidelberg, Germany; Center for Modeling and Simulation in the Biosciences; Universität Heidelberg; Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Claus
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chavarría-Krauser
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D001692:Biological Transport; D008954:Models, Biological; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; HMA; ZIP; advection; buffering; diffusion; gradient; modeling; radial transport; zinc uptake