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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

In The Heat Of The Night - Alternative Pathway Respiration Drives Thermogenesis In Philodendron Bipinnatifidum, Rebecca Miller, N. Grant, L. Giles, Miquel Ribas-Carbo, J. A. Berry, Jennifer Watling, Sharon A. Robinson Apr 2013

In The Heat Of The Night - Alternative Pathway Respiration Drives Thermogenesis In Philodendron Bipinnatifidum, Rebecca Miller, N. Grant, L. Giles, Miquel Ribas-Carbo, J. A. Berry, Jennifer Watling, Sharon A. Robinson

Sharon Robinson

Philodendron bipinnatifidum inflorescences heat up to 42ºC and thermoregulate. We investigated whether they generate heat via the cytochrome oxidase pathway uncoupled by uncoupling proteins (pUCPs), or the alternative oxidase (AOX). Contribution of AOX and pUCPs to heating in fertile (FM) and sterile (SM) male florets was determined using a combination of oxygen isotope discrimination, protein and substrate analyses. FM and SM florets thermoregulated independently for up to 30h ex planta. In both floret types, AOX contributed more than 90% of respiratory flux during peak heating. AOX protein increased 5-fold with the onset of thermogenesis in both floret types, whereas pUCP …


Distribution Of Thermogenic Activity In Floral Tissues Of Nelumbo Nucifera, Nicole M. Grant, Rebecca E. Miller, Jennifer Watling, Sharon A. Robinson Feb 2013

Distribution Of Thermogenic Activity In Floral Tissues Of Nelumbo Nucifera, Nicole M. Grant, Rebecca E. Miller, Jennifer Watling, Sharon A. Robinson

Sharon Robinson

Thermogenesis in Nelumbo nucifera (Gaertn.) has been known to scientists for many years; however, the extent of heating by different floral parts remains unclear. We present evidence that the receptacle, stamens and petals produce heat independently, and that the source of heating in these tissues is most likely the alternative oxidase (AOX). The temperatures of the receptacle, petals and stamens were significantly higher than non-thermogenic leaf tissue. After removal from the pedicel, the receptacle retained the most heat (8.1 ± 1.9°C above non-thermogenic tissue temperature) and the petals the least (2.8 ± 4.2°C), with the stamens intermediate. High AOX protein …


Bryophyte Species Composition Over Moisture Gradients In The Windmill Islands, East Antarctica: Development Of A Baseline For Monitoring Climate Change Impacts, J Wasley, S A. Robinson, J D. Turnbull, D H. King, W Wanek, M Popp Feb 2013

Bryophyte Species Composition Over Moisture Gradients In The Windmill Islands, East Antarctica: Development Of A Baseline For Monitoring Climate Change Impacts, J Wasley, S A. Robinson, J D. Turnbull, D H. King, W Wanek, M Popp

Sharon Robinson

Extreme environmental conditions prevail on the Antarctic continent and limit plant diversity to cryptogamic communities, dominated by bryophytes and lichens. Even small abiotic shifts, associated with climate change, are likely to have pronounced impacts on these communities that currently exist at their physiological limit of survival. Changes to moisture availability, due to precipitation shifts or alterations to permanent snow reserves, will most likely cause greatest impact. In order to establish a baseline for determining the effect of climate change on continental Antarctic terrestrial communities and to better understand bryophyte species distributions in relation to moisture in a floristically important Antarctic …