Abstract
Leaf development can be abstracted as two elements, cell divisions and expansions. Only when we can describe the behaviors of division and expansion, we know how leaf regulates its shape. On actual leaves, there are gradients of cell division and expansion activities that change spaciotemporally with the progress of leaf development. Gradient is not only attractive but also an obstacle for us to grasp the process. For example, although we can experimentally quantify cell number and sizes from micrographs at a particular moment, we cannot estimate the division and expansion activities, because cell size and cell division are not independent. Imaging technology vigorously clarifies problems, however, it is still difficult to observe the process throughout leaf development. We are approaching the problem via analyses on computational simulation. We have constructed a simulation model based on Free Dirichlet model where cell has shape and size, expands, immigrates, and divides. We can operate division and expansion activities, independently, on the simulator. Some results will be introduced on the presentation.
