Measuring the deformation of cells within a piece of compressed potato tuber tissue

Abstract

For the successful mathematical mechanical modelling of living plant tissues, relationships between cellular deformations and tissue deformation need to be investigated. In previous work these relationships have often been assumed. In this paper the deformation of living cells within potato tuber tissue is measured using light microscopy and image analysis and is analysed in relation to applied tissue deformations. The cell wall deformation was found to depend upon the orientation of the cell wall faces with respect to the global axes of the tissue and the applied tissue deformation. Some faces experienced compression, which reduced their surface area; others were deformed in bi-axial tension, thus increasing their surface area. These deformations were successfully related to the global tissue deformations, using a simple constant volume affine deformation model, up to compressive deformations of 20 % of specimen height. Some deviation from the model was observed due to the bending of cell walls in compression. (C) 2000 Annals of Botany Company.