Cellular patterns in Arabidopsis root epidermis emerge from gene regulatory network and diffusion dynamical feedback
Published in npj Systems Biology and Applications, 2025
In this study, we propose a systems biology approach to understand how the dynamical feedback between gene regulatory networks (GRNs) and the diffusion of molecular components underlies the emergence of spatial cellular patterns. Using the Arabidopsis thaliana root epidermis as a model, we introduce a generalized reaction-diffusion framework that explicitly includes cell-to-cell interaction through lateral inhibition.
Our model integrates the diffusion of CPC and GL3/EGL3 proteins within a meta-GRN, successfully capturing the interspersed hair and non-hair cell patterns in both wild-type and mutant phenotypes. This work overcomes the predictive limitations of previous models by providing a complete GRN topology coupled with explicit diffusion dynamics, offering new insights into the coordination of cell identity in plants.
Recommended citation: Castillo-Jiménez, A., Garay-Arroyo, A., Sánchez, M. D. L. P., Martínez-García, J. C., & Álvarez-Buylla, E. R. (2025). Cellular patterns in Arabidopsis root epidermis emerge from gene regulatory network and diffusion dynamical feedback. npj Systems Biology and Applications, 11(1), 107.
Download Paper