Strand 4: The Virtual Root.
This strand is explicitly integrative and will draw together the models developed in strands 1-3. Oversight across the strands will ensure that the component parts are compatib le, in terms of both the mathematical frameworks and the computational implementations adopted.
The project raises substantial theoretical challenges in ensuring integration exploits approaches that optimize computational performance (e.g. through asymptotic multi-scaling
and homogenization techniques); we foresee the development of methods with widespread relevance to other ISB applications.
Many opportunities for testing and exploiting the Virtual Root suggest themselves, the majority being associated with responses to environmental cues, which typically involve m ulti-scale interactions; notable among these are gravitropic responses mediated by differential auxin levels.