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On Systems Thinking, Systems Biology, and the in Silico Plant

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Hammer, G.L., Sinclair, T.R., Chapman, S.C. and van Oosterom, E. (2004) On Systems Thinking, Systems Biology, and the in Silico Plant. Plant Physiology, 134 (3). pp. 909-911.

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Article Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.103.034827

Publisher URL: http://www.aspb.org/

Abstract

The recent summary report of a Department of Energy Workshop on Plant Systems Biology (P.V. Minorsky [2003] Plant Physiol 132: 404-409) offered a welcomed advocacy for systems analysis as essential in understanding plant development, growth, and production. The goal of the Workshop was to consider methods for relating the results of molecular research to real-world challenges in plant production for increased food supplies, alternative energy sources, and environmental improvement. The rather surprising feature of this report, however, was that the Workshop largely overlooked the rich history of plant systems analysis extending over nearly 40 years (Sinclair and Seligman, 1996) that has considered exactly those challenges targeted by the Workshop. Past systems research has explored and incorporated biochemical and physiological knowledge into plant simulation models from a number of perspectives.

The research has resulted in considerable understanding and insight about how to simulate plant systems and the relative contribution of various factors in influencing plant production. These past activities have contributed directly to research focused on solving the problems of increasing biomass production and crop yields. These modeling approaches are also now providing an avenue to enhance integration of molecular genetic technologies in plant improvement (Hammer et al., 2002).

Item Type:Article
Corporate Creators:Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI), Agri-Science, Crop and Food Science
Business groups:Crop and Food Science
Additional Information:© American Society of Plant Biologists.
Keywords:Systems analysis; plant development; production; plant systems development.
Subjects:Science > Botany > Plant physiology
Science > Statistics > Simulation modelling
Live Archive:28 Jun 2004
Last Modified:03 Sep 2021 16:43

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