Virtual Plant Tissue: Building Blocks for Next-Generation Plant Growth Simulation.

Computational modeling of plant developmental processes is becoming increasingly important. Cellular resolution plant tissue simulators have been developed, yet they are typically describing physiological processes in an isolated way, strongly delimited in space and time. With plant systems biology moving toward an integrative perspective on development we have built the Virtual Plant Tissue (VPTissue) package to couple functional modules or models in the same framework and across different frameworks.

Towards mechanistic models of plant organ growth.

Modelling and simulation are increasingly used as tools in the study of plant growth and developmental processes. By formulating experimentally obtained knowledge as a system of interacting mathematical equations, it becomes feasible for biologists to gain a mechanistic understanding of the complex behaviour of biological systems. In this review, the modelling tools that are currently available and the progress that has been made to model plant development, based on experimental knowledge, are described.