法国里昂大学Christophe Godin和格勒诺布尔-阿尔卑斯大学Francois Parcy研究组合作的研究发现菜花分形形式源于开花基因网络的扰动。相关论文于2021年7月9日发表在《科学》杂志上。

将拟南芥菜花样突变体的实验分析与建模相结合，研究人员发现块状花序自相似性的产生是因为分生组织无法形成花朵，但同时短暂保留其花朵状态的传递“记忆”。影响分生组织生长的其他突变可以诱导锥形结构的产生，让人联想到与罗马建筑相似的分形。这项研究揭示了在花卉发育和生长动态过程中关键、明确扰动的组合如何产生分形形式。

据介绍，在发育过程中，植物分生组织通常产生螺旋状、相反状或轮状模式的器官。菜花具有一种非常见的器官排列模式，其中许多螺旋嵌套在各种鳞片上。仍然难以理解这种分形、自相似组织在发育过程中的意义。

附：英文原文

Title: Cauliflower fractal forms arise from perturbations of floral gene networks

Author: Eugenio Azpeitia, Gabrielle Tichtinsky, Marie Le Masson, Antonio Serrano-Mislata, Jérémy Lucas, Veronica Gregis, Carlos Gimenez, Nathanal Prunet, Etienne Farcot, Martin M. Kater, Desmond Bradley, Francisco Madueo, Christophe Godin, Francois Parcy

Issue&Volume: 2021/07/09

Abstract: Throughout development, plant meristems regularly produce organs in defined spiral, opposite, or whorl patterns. Cauliflowers present an unusual organ arrangement with a multitude of spirals nested over a wide range of scales. How such a fractal, self-similar organization emerges from developmental mechanisms has remained elusive. Combining experimental analyses in an Arabidopsis thaliana cauliflower-like mutant with modeling, we found that curd self-similarity arises because the meristems fail to form flowers but keep the “memory” of their transient passage in a floral state. Additional mutations affecting meristem growth can induce the production of conical structures reminiscent of the conspicuous fractal Romanesco shape. This study reveals how fractal-like forms may emerge from the combination of key, defined perturbations of floral developmental programs and growth dynamics.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5999

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/373/6551/192