My research is focussed on molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal responses driving plant growth and development in changing environments. Identifying the underlying mechanisms will reveal organizing principles in time and space that regulate plant growth dynamics.

Physicist interested in plant biomechanics and mathematical modelling of plant morphogenesis.

Key Publications

On the mechanical origins of waving, coiling and skewing in Arabidopsis thaliana roots
Amir Porat, Arman Tekinalp, Yashraj Bhosale, Mattia Gazzola and Yasmine Meroz
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121 (11) e2312761121 (2024)
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312761121

The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is a cluster of stem cells responsible for the generation of all above-ground plant tissues. It is regulated by a complex system of transcription factors (TFs), signalling peptides and hormones. WUSHEL (WUS) is the TF which defines stem cell identity in Arabidopsis thaliana. It upregulates the signalling peptide CLV3, which in turn inhibits WUS as a negative feedback loop to constrain SAM size.

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 Research Interests 

I’m generally interested in the application of formal methods (computer science, computational) on complex multi-scale (biological) systems and especially in systems where there are emergent phenomena. 

Biography