Biology Biotech
To grow and reproduce, plants must adjust to changes around them. Using LEDs and optical filters, scientists are exploring how light signals provide information to these organisms, as well as how they can induce metabolic and growth responses. If these processes can be understood and controlled, they could be utilised to improve horticultural practice
The sensory responses of plants to environmental stimuli
“To understand responses of organisms, and why they occur, we need to consider the two components driving these
responses. These are proximate
causes (such as mechanisms within the organism) and ultimate causes (natural selection and evolution),” explains Dr Pedro
J. Aphalo. Based at Helsinki
University, Aphalo’s research fields are sensory photobiology -
the regulatory
effect of light on biological systems - and ecophysiology, a discipline that examines how organisms’ physiology acclimates and adapts to a variety of environmental conditions. Aphalo’s current project seeks to
establish how plants perceive and react to spectral quality, or the colour of light. Entitled “Acclimation of stomatal responses to light: environmental cues, strategies and mechanisms”, the study, primarily funded by a grant of €418,000 from the Academy of Finland, is targeted to conclude in August 2015. At the regional level, the initiative participates in “UV4Growth”, a COST Action sponsored by the European Science Foundation. “Interactions between plants and light
Above: The colour of ‘Lollo Rosso’ lettuce depends on the colour of the light to which plants are exposed to (top) when grown under filtered sunlight (bottom).
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are complex and subtle, and are not solely related to the energy required for photosynthesis,” explains Aphalo. “A central part of our hypothesis is that plants can perceive informational signals about their environment. Just like other organisms, plants sense their surroundings and use many different stimuli present in nature to their benefit. However, because plants are immobile, we tend to perceive their responses as slower and less evident. The sensory information gathered by plants about their surrounding conditions serves a regulatory function, since it provides them with a source of information about the weather, seasons and competing organisms. There is clear evidence that
Insight Publishers | Projects
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