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Selected Works

2001

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Botany

Reversible Calcium-Regulated Stopcocks In Legume Sieve Tubes, Michael Knoblauch, Winfried Peters, Katrin Ehlers, Aart Van Bel Apr 2001

Reversible Calcium-Regulated Stopcocks In Legume Sieve Tubes, Michael Knoblauch, Winfried Peters, Katrin Ehlers, Aart Van Bel

Winfried S. Peters

Sieve tubes of legumes (Fabaceae) contain characteristic P-protein crystalloids with controversial function. We studied their behavior by conventional light, electron, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. In situ, crystalloids are able to undergo rapid (<1>sec) and reversible conversions from the condensed resting state into a dispersed state, in which they occlude the sieve tubes. Crystalloid dispersal is triggered by plasma membrane leakage induced by mechanical injury or permeabilizing substances. Similarly, abrupt turgor changes imposed by osmotic shock cause crystalloid dispersal. Because chelators generally prevent the response, divalent cations appear to be the decisive factor in crystalloid expansion. Cycling between dispersal and …

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Does Growth Correlate With Turgor-Induced Elastic Strain In Stems? A Re-Evaluation Of De Vries' Classical Experiments, Winfried Peters, Maggie Farm, A. Kopf Mar 2001

Does Growth Correlate With Turgor-Induced Elastic Strain In Stems? A Re-Evaluation Of De Vries' Classical Experiments, Winfried Peters, Maggie Farm, A. Kopf

Winfried S. Peters

The correlation between growth and turgor-induced elastic expansion was studied in hypocotyls of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seedlings under various growth conditions. Turgor-induced elastic cell wall strain was greater in hypocotyls of faster growing seedlings, i.e. in etiolated versus light-grown ones. It also was higher in rapidly growing young seedlings as compared with nongrowing mature ones. However, analysis of the spatial distribution of elastic strain and growth demonstrated that their correspondence was only apparent. Profiles of elastic strain declined steadily from the top of the hypocotyls toward the basis, whereas the profiles of relative elemental growth rate along the …

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The Unusual Life History Of Alseis Blackiana: A Shade-Persistent Pioneer Tree?, Jason D. Nason, J. W. Dalling, K. Winter, S. P. Hubbell, D. A. Murawski, J. L. Hamrick Jan 2001

The Unusual Life History Of Alseis Blackiana: A Shade-Persistent Pioneer Tree?, Jason D. Nason, J. W. Dalling, K. Winter, S. P. Hubbell, D. A. Murawski, J. L. Hamrick

Jason D Nason

Classifications of tree species into regeneration guilds or functional groups are often based on a limited number of life history characteristics indicative of requirements for early establishment, with the assumption that these traits are correlated with growth requirements of larger individuals. We tested the validity of this assumption for Alseis blackiana, a common canopy tree in central Panama, by examining its seed germination, seedling growth, and sapling distribution, growth, and mortality. We found that the early life history of Alseis is characteristic of pioneer species: the seed germination rate was much higher in forest gaps than in the forest understory, …

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