Though they may not be defined by acne or mood swings, plants also go through their own adolescence. Transition to vegetative reproductionwhich only happens over a few days. The plant slows down leaf growth and develops reproductive organs instead.
Now, a team of scientists has identified genetic changes that are linked to why plants undergo developmental changes at different rates. Research published in the August 2024 issue Plant cells.
[Related: Build a garden that’ll have pollinators buzzin’.]
“In some ways, plant and human growth are very similar: everyone experiences it in their own way,” says study co-author Daphne Ezer, a computational biologist at the University of York in the UK. It said in a statement“Our study uncovers specific genetic changes that can control the timing of developmental transitions in plants, paving the way for improved crop uniformity and quality in the future.”
The dramatic physical changes in this puberty-like process are important to farmers and consumers alike because it initiates the process by which nutrients in the leaves are delivered to the plant’s reproductive organs, which will eventually become the plant’s fruits and grains.
For animals, timely plant development means that their food is more nutritious. Farmers have tried to grow crops as uniform as possible, but just like in humans, puberty occurs at different ages for individual plants.
To take a closer look at the factors influencing the timing of this transition, the team New Research Grown Up Arabidopsis thaliana. this Wild mustard varieties The most similar one is Brassicaceae Crops such as broccoli and cabbage. The team Arabidopsis thaliana The species has been inbred for several generations, Near genetically identical seed poolsThey grew the plants in as consistent conditions as possible: soil, temperature, humidity and light.
Even in the highly controlled environment of the laboratory, the plants began to show signs of a growth transition. Different daysThe plants were all the same age but at different stages on their journey to botanical “puberty.”
Once about half of the plants had completed the transition, the team measured gene activity. RNA sequencing and pseudotemporal inference algorithms We pinpoint specific genetic changes in leaves that correlate with the timing of this developmental change, and by studying these changes further, we can gain a greater understanding of what is happening behind the scenes to accelerate plant “puberty.”
[Related: These meat-eating plants are masters of deception.]
The team also observed that the plants began the process of dying off their leaves before any visible reproductive organs emerged.
“Surprisingly, we also found that plants start redirecting nutrients from leaves to floral structures earlier than expected,” Ezell said. “To improve the nutritional value of their crops, farmers may need to pay attention to these hidden processes that occur long before there are visible signs of the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth.”
