Three-dimensional functional gradients direct stem curling in the resurrection plant
Selaginella lepidophylla
- Brulé, Véronique Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1
- Rafsanjani, Ahmad ORCID Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
- Asgari, Meisam ORCID Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- Western, Tamara L. ORCID Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal, QC, Canada H3A 1B1
- Pasini, Damiano ORCID Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal, QC, Canada H3A 0C3
- 2019-10-30
Published in:
- Journal of The Royal Society Interface. - The Royal Society. - 2019, vol. 16, no. 159, p. 20190454
English
Upon hydration and dehydration, the vegetative tissue of
Selaginella lepidophylla
can reversibly swell and shrink to generate complex morphological transformations. Here, we investigate how structural and compositional properties at tissue and cell wall levels in
S. lepidophylla
lead to different stem curling profiles between inner and outer stems. Our results show that directional bending in both stem types is associated with cross-sectional gradients of tissue density, cell orientation and secondary cell wall composition between adaxial and abaxial stem sides. In inner stems, longitudinal gradients of cell wall thickness and composition affect tip-to-base tissue swelling and shrinking, allowing for more complex curling as compared to outer stems. Together, these features yield three-dimensional functional gradients that allow the plant to reproducibly deform in predetermined patterns that vary depending on the stem type. This study is the first to demonstrate functional gradients at different hierarchical levels combining to operate in a three-dimensional context.
Upon hydration and dehydration, the vegetative tissue of
can reversibly swell and shrink to generate complex morphological transformations. Here, we investigate how structural and compositional properties at tissue and cell wall levels in
lead to different stem curling profiles between inner and outer stems. Our results show that directional bending in both stem types is associated with cross-sectional gradients of tissue density, cell orientation and secondary cell wall composition between adaxial and abaxial stem sides. In inner stems, longitudinal gradients of cell wall thickness and composition affect tip-to-base tissue swelling and shrinking, allowing for more complex curling as compared to outer stems. Together, these features yield three-dimensional functional gradients that allow the plant to reproducibly deform in predetermined patterns that vary depending on the stem type. This study is the first to demonstrate functional gradients at different hierarchical levels combining to operate in a three-dimensional context.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- hybrid
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1098/rsif.2019.0454
- ISSN 1742-5689
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/88987
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