RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Mathematical modeling of plant cell fate transitions controlled by hormonal signals JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 830190 DO 10.1101/830190 A1 Klawe, Filip Z. A1 Stiehl, Thomas A1 Bastian, Peter A1 Gaillochet, Christophe A1 Lohmann, Jan U. A1 Marciniak-Czochra, Anna YR 2019 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/11/04/830190.abstract AB Coordination of fate transition and cell division is crucial to maintain the plant architecture and to achieve efficient production of plant organs. In this paper, we analysed the stem cell dynamics at the shoot apical meristem (SAM) that is one of the plant stem cells locations. We designed a mathematical model to elucidate the impact of hormonal signaling on the fate transition rates between different zones corresponding to slowly dividing stem cells and fast dividing transit amplifying cells. The model is based on a simplified two-dimensional disc geometry of the SAM and accounts for a continuous displacement towards the periphery of cells produced in the central zone. Coupling growth and hormonal signaling results in a nonlinear system of reaction-diffusion equations on a growing domain with the growth velocity depending on the model components. The model is tested by simulating perturbations in the level of key transcription factors that maintain SAM homeostasis. The model provides new insights on how the transcription factor HECATE is integrated in the regulatory network that governs stem cell differentiation.