title: Flower development: from morphodynamics to morphomechanics.
abstract: The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is a small population of stem cells that continuously generates organs and tissues. We will discuss here flower formation at the SAM, which involves a complex network of regulatory genes and signalling molecules. A major downstream target of this network is the extracellular matrix or cell wall, which is a local determinant for both growth rates and growth directions. We will discuss here a number of recent studies aimed at analysing the link between cell wall structure and molecular regulation. This has involved multidisciplinary approaches including quantitative imaging, molecular genetics, computational biology and biophysics. A scenario emerges where molecular networks impact on both cell wall anisotropy and synthesis, thus causing the rapid outgrowth of organs at specific locations. More specifically, this involves two interdependent processes: the activation of wall remodelling enzymes and changes in microtubule dynamics.This article is part of the themed issue 'Systems morphodynamics: understanding the development of tissue hardware'.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Plant Reproduction and Development, Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRA, 69342 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Abad
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Plant Reproduction and Development, Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRA, 69342 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9685-4902
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sassi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Plant Reproduction and Development, Univ Lyon, ENS de Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS, INRA, 69342 Lyon, France jan.traas@ens-lyon.fr.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5107-1472
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Traas
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development*; D018519:Meristem / Q000254:growth & development*; D063245:Plant Development
keywords: cell wall; flower meristem; modelling; molecular regulation; morphogenesis