Cell movement and localised senescence

Although differential growth will generate morphologies and anatomies, sculpture often makes an essential contribution to generating biological structures. Convexities, concavities, holes and tubes may be made by relocating or eliminating cells. Movement is not an option for plant cells, but cell separation and localised senescence leading to cell death are frequently employed as developmental or adaptive measures.

Links and further reading

• Arber A (1950) The natural philosophy of plant form. Cambridge University Press.
• Barthélémy D, Caraglio Y (2007) Plant architecture: a dynamic, multilevel and comprehensive approach to plant form, structure and ontogeny. Annals of Botany 99: 375-407.
• Farnsworth KD, Niklas KJ (1995) Theories of optimization, form and function in branching architecture. Functional Ecology 9: 355-363.
• Michael J. Farabee's useful Online Biology Book has a general introduction to cell movement .