# phyto: weird, jazzy Nature, the 'transference of sexuality', 'some sexual consequences of being a plant'.

<< Plants have characteristic features that affect the expression of sexual function, notably the existence of a haploid organism in the life cycle, and in their development, which is modular, iterative and environmentally reactive. For instance, primary selection (the first filtering of the products of meiosis) is via gametes in diplontic animals, but via gametophyte organisms in plants. Intragametophytic selfing produces double haploid sporophytes which is in effect a form of clonal reproduction mediated by sexual mechanisms. In homosporous plants, the diploid sporophyte is sexless, sex being only expressed in the haploid gametophyte. However, in seed plants, the timing and location of gamete production is determined by the sporophyte, which therefore has a sexual role, and in dioecious plants has genetic sex, while the seed plant gametophyte has lost genetic sex. This evolutionary transition is one that E.J.H. Corner called ‘the transference of sexuality’. The iterative development characteristic of plants can lead to a wide variety of patterns in the distribution of sexual function, and in dioecious plants poor canalization of reproductive development can lead to intrasexual mating and the production of YY supermales or WW superfemales. Finally, plant modes of asexual reproduction (agamospermy/apogamy) are also distinctive by subverting gametophytic processes. >>

Quentin Cronk. Some sexual consequences of being a plant. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. doi: 10.1098/ rstb.2021.0213. Mar 21, 2022. 

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2021.0213

Also

keyword 'phyto' | 'plant' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=phyto

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=plant

keywords: evol, evolution, phyto, plant, sex, sexuality

# gst: modeling complex nanofibril-based (cell) walls to meet diverse (bio-physical) constraints.

<< A plant cell wall's unique ability to expand without weakening or breaking -- a quality required for plant growth -- is due to the movement of its cellulose skeleton >>️

<< The new model, (..) reveals that chains of cellulose bundle together within the cell wall, providing strength, and slide against each other when the cell is stretched, providing extensibility. >>

<< The new study, (..) presents a new concept of the plant cell wall, gives insights into plant cell growth, and could provide inspiration for the design of polymeric materials with new properties. >>

<< For a long time, the prevailing concept of a plant cell wall has been that of a gel that is reinforced by cellulose fibers, with the stiff cellulose rods acting like steel rebar in cement, (..) However, we determined that cellulose chains instead stick to each other to form a network of cellulose bundles, which provides a lot more mechanical strength than disconnected rods floating in a gel. And it's the cellulose chains, rather than other components, that limit cell wall expansion, sliding alongside each other like an extension ladder when the cell is stretched. >> Daniel Cosgrove. ️

️

What makes plant cell walls both strong and extensible? Penn State. May 13, 2021. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210513142432.htm

Yao Zhang, Jingyi Yu, et al. Molecular insights into the complex mechanics of plant epidermal cell walls. Science. 

Vol. 372, Issue 6543, pp. 706-711

doi: 10.1126/ science.abf2824. May 14,  2021. 

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6543/706

# rmx-s-phyto: Dionaea muscipula, with precision

<< Carnivorous plants stir the imagination. You can find the results in science fiction novels (“The Day of the Triffids”), Broadway plays(“Little Shop of Horrors”) and in recent research that concludes that the Venus flytrap can count. Not out loud, of course. And no one is claiming that the plants are aware that they are counting. But even so, this is the first time someone has demonstrated counting in a plant >>

James Gorman. The Venus Flytrap, a Plant That Can Count. nyt-sciencetake, Feb. 1, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/science/the-venus-flytrap-a-plant-that-can-count.html

Sönke Scherzer, Elzbieta Krol, et al. The Venus Flytrap Dionaea muscipula Counts Prey-Induced Action Potentials to Induce Sodium Uptake. Current Biology. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.11.057

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(15)01501-8

# s-phyto: versatile SERK1, in shedding and growing ...

<< During  their  life,  plants  constantly  renew  themselves.  They  sprout  new  leaves  in  the  spring  and shed  them  in  the  fall.  >>

<< When  it  is time  to  shed  an  organ,  a  small  hormone  binds  to  this  membrane  receptor  and,  together  with  a helper  protein,  the  abscission  process  is  initiated. >>

<< To  fully  initiate  the abscission  process,  another  player  is  needed:  the  helper  protein  SERK1. >>

<< The  fascinating  thing  about  SERK1  is  that  it  not  only  plays  a  role  in  the  shedding  mechanism  of plant  organs,  but  also  acts  together  with  other  membrane  receptors  that  regulate  totally  different aspects  of  plant  development >>

<< Indeed,  SERK1  is  a versatile  helper  protein  shared  between  different  signaling  pathways.  When  bound  to  another protein  receptor,  it  can  also  for  example  signal  the  plant  to  grow. >>

Unveiling the withering process. April 14, 2016

http://scienmag.com/unveiling-the-withering-process/

Julia Santiago, Benjamin Brandt, et al.
Mechanistic insight into a peptide hormone signaling complex mediating floral organ abscission. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.15075. Published April 8, 2016. eLife 2016;10.7554/eLife.15075

http://elifesciences.org/content/5/e15075v1

# life: cascading effects of noise on plants

<< Though noise may change moment by moment for humans, it has a more lasting effect on trees and plants. (..) human noise pollution affects the diversity of plant life in an ecosystem even after the noise has been removed. This is the first study that explores the long-term effects of noise on plant communities. >>

️

Cascading effects of noise on plants persist over long periods and after noise is removed. California Polytechnic State University. Apr 13, 2021. 

https://phys.org/news/2021-04-cascading-effects-noise-persist-periods.html

AA << found support for long-term negative effects of noise on tree seedling recruitment, evenness of woody plants and increasingly dissimilar vegetation communities with differences in noise levels. Furthermore, seedling recruitment and plant community composition did not recover following noise removal, possibly due in part to a lag in recovery among animals that disperse and pollinate plants. (They) results add to the limited evidence that noise has cascading ecological effects. Moreover, these effects may be long lasting and noise removal may not lead to immediate recovery. >>

️

Jennifer N. Phillips, Sarah E. Termondt, Clinton D. Francis.  Long-term noise pollution affects seedling recruitment and community composition, with negative effects persisting after removal. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. doi: 10.1098/ rspb.2020.2906. Apr 14, 2021.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2020.2906

Also

keyword 'noise' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=noise

# gst phyto: an evidence for alternative transient states

AA << have discovered that plant communities follow different trajectories when they adapt to dryer conditions than when they adapt to more frequently flooded conditions. Further, in two side studies in the same experiment they found that flooding history of the vegetation alter the response of germinating seeds and of litter decomposition to the current conditions. >>

<< This is one of the most direct experimental evidence to date for alternative transient states, >> Judith Sarneel.

Plant communities do not take the same route from A to B as from B to A. Umea University. Feb 25, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-02-route.html

Judith M. Sarneel  Maria Dolores Bejarano, et al. Local flooding history affects plant recruitment in riparian zones. Journal of Vegetation Science.
doi: 10.1111/jvs.12731 Feb 3, 2019

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jvs.12731

# life: oops! aprops of tsunami wave hazards, exposure to other 'Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant' accidents appear to exist ...

<< A major tsunami in the northern Arabian Sea could severely impact the coastlines of India and Pakistan, which are studded with sensitive installations including several nuclear plants, >>

<< Atomic power stations functioning along the Arabian Sea include Tarapur (1,400 megawatts) in India's Maharashtra state, Kaiga (being expanded to 2,200 megawatts) in Karnataka state and Karachi in Pakistan (also being expanded to 2,200 megawatts). A mega nuclear power plant coming up at Jaitapur, Maharashtra will generate 9,900 megawatts, while another project at Mithi Virdi in Gujarat may be shelved because of public opposition. >>

<< Nuclear power plants are located along coasts because their enormous cooling needs can be taken care of easily and cheaply by making using abundant seawater. >>

Nuclear plants in Arabian Sea face tsunami risk. SciDev.Net. Sep 21, 2020.

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-nuclear-arabian-sea-tsunami.html

Rajendran, C.P., Heidarzadeh, et al. The Orphan Tsunami of 1524 on the Konkan Coast, Western India, and Its Implications. Pure Appl. Geophys. doi: 10.1007/ s00024-020-02575-0. Sep 7, 2020. 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00024-020-02575-0

<< The earthquake had also generated a 14 m high tsunami that arrived shortly afterwards and swept over the plant's seawall and then flooded the lower parts of reactors 1–4. This caused the failure of the emergency generators and loss of power to the circulating pumps.(..) The resultant loss of reactor core cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns, three hydrogen explosions, and the release of radioactive contamination in Units 1, 2 and 3 between 12 and 15 March. >>

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.  Last edited Sep 25, 2020 by Dougsim.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster

Also

2157 - il pino di takata matsubara. Notes. Apr 01, 2011. (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/2011/04/2157-il-pino-di-takata-matsubara.html

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keyword 'onda' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=onda

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keyword 'wave' in Font

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=wave

# chem: self-assembly in icosahedral (3D) nanoscale architectures

<< capsid proteins of spherical plant viruses can self-assemble into well-organized icosahedral three-dimensional (3D) nanoscale multivalent architectures with high monodispersity and structural symmetry >>

Narayanan KB, Han SS. Icosahedral plant viral nanoparticles - bioinspired synthesis of nanomaterials/nanostructures. Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2017 Aug 31. pii: S0001-8686(16)30366-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2017.08.005.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/28916111/

# s-phyto: mRNA instability may facilitate rapid recovery of plants after stressful events

<< Stress recovery may prove to be a promising approach to increase plant performance, and theoretically, mRNA instability may facilitate faster recovery.   Transcriptome (RNA-seq, qPCR, sRNA-seq, PARE) and methylome profiling during repeated excess-light stress and recovery was performed at intervals as short as three minutes >>

AA << demonstrate that 87% of the stress-upregulated mRNAs analysed exhibit very rapid recovery >>

Peter Alexander Crisp, Diep Ganguly, et al.  Rapid recovery gene downregulation during excess-light stress and recovery in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell Publ. July 2017 doi: 10.1105/tpc.16.00828

http://www.plantcell.org/content/early/2017/07/13/tpc.16.00828

# evol: adaptability by genome duplications (A. kamchatica)

<< "With these results, we have demonstrated on a molecular-genetic level that genome duplications can positively affect the adaptability of organisms," says plant scientist Timothy Paape. The multiple gene copies enable the plant to assume advantageous mutations while keeping an original copy of important genes. >>

Genome duplication drives evolution of species. University of Zurich. Sep 25, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-09-genome-duplication-evolution-species.html

Timothy Paape, Roman V. Briskine, et al. Patterns of polymorphism and selection in the subgenomes of the allopolyploid Arabidopsis kamchatica.
Nature Comm 9 3909 Sep 25, 2018

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06108-1

# e-bot: mimicking the structure of the "powdery alligator-flag" (Thalia dealbata)

<< Versatile, light-weight materials that are both strong and resilient are crucial for the development of flexible electronics, such as bendable tablets and wearable sensors. Aerogels are good candidates for such applications, but until now, it's been difficult to make them with both properties. Now, researchers report in ACS Nano that mimicking the structure of the "powdery alligator-flag" plant [Thalia dealbata] has enabled them to make a graphene-based aerogel that meets these needs. >>

Plant inspiration could lead to flexible electronics. June 21, 2017

https://m.phys.org/news/2017-06-flexible-electronics.html

Miao Yang, Nifang Zhao, et al. Biomimetic Architectured Graphene Aerogel with Exceptional Strength and Resilience. ACS Nano
doi: 10.1021/acsnano.7b01815 Publ. June 21, 2017

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsnano.7b01815

# phyto: feel sounds to spot water

AA << used the model plant Pisum sativum to investigate the mechanism by which roots sense and locate water >>

AA << found that roots were able to locate a water source by sensing the vibrations generated by water moving inside pipes, even in the absence of substrate moisture. When both moisture and acoustic cues were available, roots preferentially used moisture in the soil over acoustic vibrations, suggesting that acoustic gradients enable roots to broadly detect a water source at a distance, while moisture gradients help them to reach their target more accurately >>

AA << results also showed that the presence of noise affected the abilities of roots to perceive and respond correctly to the surrounding soundscape >>

Monica Gagliano, Mavra Grimonprez, et al. Tuned in: plant roots use sound to locate water. Oecologia. Volume 184, Issue 1, pp 151–160. May 2017

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00442-017-3862-z

# s-evol: a radical reassessment of feeding behavior

<< In  2014,  scientists  discovered  a  bizarre  fossil—a  crocodile-sized  sea-dwelling  reptile [Atopodenatus  unicus] that  lived 242  million  years  ago  in  what  today  is  southern  China.>>

<< "It's  a  very  strange  animal,"  says  Olivier  Rieppel,  Rowe  Family  Curator  of  Evolutionary  Biology at  The  Field  Museum  in  Chicago.  "It's  got  a  hammerhead,  which  is  unique,  it's  the  first  time we've  seen  a  reptile  like  this."  >>

'Hammerhead'  creature  was  world's  first  planteating  marine  reptile. May  6,  2016.

http://m.phys.org/news/2016-05-hammerhead-creature-world-plant-eating-marine.html

<< The evidence  indicates  a  novel  feeding  mechanism  wherein  the  chisel-shaped  teeth were  used  to  scrape  algae  off  the  substrate,  and  the  plant  matter  that  was  loosened  was filtered  from  the  water  column  through  the  more  posteriorly  positioned  tooth  mesh.  This  is the  oldest  record  of  herbivory  within  marine  reptiles.>>

Li  Chun ,  Olivier  Rieppel , et al.  The  earliest  herbivorous  marine  reptile  and  its  remarkable  jaw apparatus. Science  Advances    06 May 2016: Vol.  2,  no.  5,  e1501659 DOI:  10.1126/sciadv.1501659

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/5/e1501659

# evol: when the dinosaurs died, lichens thrived ...

AA << results imply that multiple historical events during the transition from Mesozoic to Cenozoic eras, including the K-Pg mass extinction event, impacted the evolutionary dynamics in lichen-forming fungi. >>

Jen-Pan Huang, Ekaphan Kraichak, et al.   Accelerated diversifications in three diverse families of morphologically complex lichen-forming fungi link to major historical events. Scientific Reports.  volume 9, Article number: 8518 (2019).   https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44881-1  

<< We thought that lichens would be affected negatively, but in the three groups we looked at, they seized the chance and diversified rapidly, (..) Some lichens grow sophisticated 3D structures like plant leaves, and these ones filled the niches of plants that died out. >> Jen-Pang Huang.

When the dinosaurs died, lichens thrived. Mass extinction hurt land plants, but DNA shows that some fungus/plant combo organisms rose up. Field Museum, Academia Sinica, Taipei.  - ScienceDaily. Jun 28, 2019.   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/06/190628120432.htm

K-Pg mass extinction event   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous%E2%80%93Paleogene_extinction_event

# phyto: the benefits of being a plant in a patch (among Moricandia moricandioides)

<< Pollinators tend to be preferentially attracted to large floral displays that may comprise more than one plant in a patch. Attracting pollinators thus not only benefits individuals investing in advertising, but also other plants in a patch through a 'magnet' effect.  >>

Ruben Torices, Jose M. Gomez, John R. Pannell. Kin discrimination allows plants to modify investment towards pollinator attraction. Nature Comm.Volume 9, Article number 2018. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04378-3. May 22, 2018.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04378-3   

The social networks of flowers. CORDIS. Dec 11, 2018.

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-12-social-networks.html 

# phyto: a molecular compass to coordinate growth

<< Using this protein [protein BASL: Breaking of Asymmetry in the Stomatal Lineage] to detect the polarity field is like switching a light on in each cell across the tissue. It allows us to see that these cells all have a compass, pointing in the same direction across the leaf >>

<< In this way we will find out if, as we suspect, this molecular compass is a conserved mechanism in the development of plant shapes across the plant kingdom which could be co-opted in different ways by different branches of evolution. >> Catherine Mansfield.

Adrian Galvin. Leaves possess a molecular compass. John Innes Centre. Aug 21, 2018

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-08-molecular-compass.html 

Catherine Mansfield, Jacob L. Newman, et al. Ectopic BASL Reveals Tissue Cell Polarity throughout Leaf Development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Current Biology. 28 (16): 2638-46.E4 Aug 20, 2018 doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.019

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30810-8

# evol: the hypothesis of quasi-stochastic 'jazzy' metamechanics of biological evolution (in Arabidopsis thaliana)

<< Mutations occur when DNA is damaged and left unrepaired, creating a new variation. The scientists wanted to know if mutation was purely random or something deeper. What they found was unexpected. >>️

<< We always thought of mutation as basically random across the genome, (..) It turns out that mutation is very non-random and it's non-random in a way that benefits the plant. It's a totally new way of thinking about mutation. >> Grey Monroe. ️

Study challenges evolutionary theory that DNA mutations are random. UC Davis. Jan 12, 2022.

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-evolutionary-theory-dna-mutations-random.html

Monroe JG, Srikant T, et al. Mutation bias reflects natural selection in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature. doi: 10.1038/ s41586-021-04269-6. Jan 12, 2022.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04269-6

FonT 

for a long time I have developed the suspicion that the small plant cared for by grandmother on the windowsill could be a not trivial image of (r)evolution ... 

The three ways of the plastoquinone inside the photosystem II complex. May 23, 2017.

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/2017/05/s-phyto-three-ways-of-plastoquinone.html

Also

keyword 'evolution'  in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=evolution

keyword 'evolution' | 'evoluzione'  in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry)

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=evolution

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=evoluzione

keyword 'jazz' in FonT

https://flashontrack.blogspot.com/search?q=jazz

keyword 'jazz' in Notes (quasi-stochastic poetry):

https://inkpi.blogspot.com/search?q=jazz

keywords: evol, dna, mutations, randomness, quasi-stochasticity, jazz

# rmx-s-phyt: how they turn into zombies

<< (..) on the molecular reasons for a bacterial (..) disease, explaining how (..) destroy the life cycle (..) and inflict a 'zombie' existence on them >>

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151016084858.htm

http://www.uni-jena.de/en/Research+News/PM151016_Zombies_en.html

Florian Rumpler, Lydia Gramzow, et al.  Did convergent protein evolution enable phytoplasmas to generate ‘zombie plants’? Trends in Plant Science, October 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.08.004

http://www.cell.com/trends/plant-science/abstract/S1360-1385(15)00205-8

# gst phyto: how cheaters are favored

<< Our data show that natural selection favors cheating rhizobia, and support predictions that rhizobia can often subvert plant defenses and evolve to exploit hosts, >> Joel Sachs.

<< The study (..) is the first to uncover cheater strains in natural populations and show how natural selection favors them. >>

Study finds natural selection favors cheaters. University of California - Riverside. Mar 19, 2019.

https://m.phys.org/news/2019-03-natural-favors-cheaters.html

<< Legumes have mechanisms to defend against rhizobia that fail to fix sufficient nitrogen, but these data support predictions that rhizobia can subvert plant defenses and evolve to exploit hosts. >>

Kelsey A. Gano‐Cohen, Camille E. Wendlandt, et al. Interspecific conflict and the evolution of ineffective rhizobia. Ecology Letters. Mar 18, 2019 doi: 10.1111/ele.13247

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.13247

# s-evol: swapping analogous genes among species

<< (..) about half of shared genes are interchangeable across species. >>

<< (..)  in unpublished experiments, the researchers have swapped yeast genes with analogous ones from Escherichia coli bacteria or with those from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana >>

<< About 60 percent of E. coli genes could stand in for their yeast counterparts >>

Tina Hesman Saey. Swapping  analogous  genes  no  problem  among  species. Yeast  survives  with  bacteria,  plant,  human  versions  of shared  genetic  material. July 19, 2016, 4:12pm.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/swapping-analogous-genes-no-problem-among-species

Aashiq H. Kachroo et al. Deciphering common principles governing gene replaceability in yeast. The Allied Genetics Conference 2016, Orlando, Fla., July 15, 2016.

http://www.genetics2016.org/presenters/abstracts