Kinematical, Structural and Mechanical Adaptations to Desiccation in Poikilohydric Ramonda myconi (Gesneriaceae).

ABSTRACT: Resurrection plants have fascinated scientists since centuries as they can fully recover from cellular water contents below 10%, concomitantly showing remarkable leaf folding motions. While physiological adaptations have been meticulously investigated, the understanding of structural and mechanical adaptations of this phenomenon is scarce. Using imaging and bending techniques during dehydration-rehydration experiments, morphological, anatomical, and biomechanical properties of desiccation-tolerant Ramonda myconi are examined, and selected structural adaptations are compared to those of homoiohydrous Monophyllaea horsfieldii (both Gesneriaceae). At low water availability, intact and cut-off R. myconi leaves undergo considerable morphological alterations, which are fully

SUBMITTER: Kampowski T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6256057 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature