Germinating barley seed, courtesy of Michael Holdsworth (School of Biosciences, Nottingham).
Arnd Korn, a PhD student in the School, has been selected to represent mathematical sciences in the UK at the forthcoming ‘SET for Britain’ exhibition on 17 March. The exhibition is held in the House of Commons and aims to promote the work of early career researchers in Science and Engineering. Mr Korn will present a poster entitled "Image Analysis of Seed Germination And Simulation of an Expanding Porous Medium".
In his work with Professors John King (Mathematical Sciences) and Michael Holdsworth (Biosciences) he examines seed germination from a mathematical perspective using two approaches. On the one hand, he compares different methods of visualising seed germination such as light microscopy and X-ray microcomputed tomography. On the other hand, biomechanical whole-seed models have been developed and analysed.
Seed germination is the emergence of a plant embryo from a protective seed coat. Dry seeds of agriculturally important plants like wheat, barley, and maize take up water from soil humidity after being sown. The water uptake leads to an increase in seed size and subtle changes in shape. Later, the embryonic root grows and pushes through the surrounding tissue. Previous research has shown that the material properties of the surrounding layers change under the control of plant hormones. Little is known about how the water uptake generates forces within the seed and leads to the cracking of the seed coat. Mr Korn's work addresses questions on the mechanics of seed germination and could help understand the roles of different tissues. Ultimately, this research will shed light on the biological control of how and when seeds germinate.
Posted on Friday 7th February 2014