The Experts below are selected from a list of 309 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Karl J. Niklas - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Julius Sachs (1868): The father of Plant Physiology
American Journal of Botany, 2018Co-Authors: Ulrich Kutschera, Karl J. NiklasAbstract:The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Julius von Sachs' (1832-1897) Lehrbuch der Botanik (Textbook of Botany), which provided a comprehensive summary of what was then known about the Plant sciences. Three years earlier, in 1865, Sachs produced the equally impressive Handbuch der Experimental-Physiologie der Pflanzen (Handbook of Experimental Plant Physiology), which summarized the state of knowledge in all aspects of the discipline known today as Plant Physiology. Both of these books provided numerous insights based on Sachs' seminal experiments. By virtue of a reliance on detailed empirical observation and the rigorous application of chemical and physical principles, it is fair to say that the publication of these two monumental works marked the beginning of what can be called "modern-day" Plant science. Moreover, Sachs' Lehrbuch der Botanik prefigured the ascendance of Plant molecular biology and the systems biology of photoautotrophic organisms. Regrettably, many of the insights of this great scientist have been forgotten by the generations who followed. It is only fitting, therefore, that the anniversary of the publication of the Lehrbuch der Botanik and the career of "the father of Plant Physiology" should be honored and reviewed, particularly because Sachs established the Physiology of green organisms as an integral branch of botany and incorporated a Darwinian perspective into Plant biology. Here we highlight key insights, with particular emphasis on Sachs' detailed discussion of sexual reproduction at the cellular level and his endorsement of Darwinian evolution.
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Evolutionary Plant Physiology: Charles Darwin’s forgotten synthesis
Naturwissenschaften, 2009Co-Authors: Ulrich Kutschera, Karl J. NiklasAbstract:Charles Darwin dedicated more than 20 years of his life to a variety of investigations on higher Plants (angiosperms). It has been implicitly assumed that these studies in the fields of descriptive botany and experimental Plant Physiology were carried out to corroborate his principle of descent with modification. However, Darwin’s son Francis, who was a professional Plant biologist, pointed out that the interests of his father were both of a physiological and an evolutionary nature. In this article, we describe Darwin’s work on the Physiology of higher Plants from a modern perspective, with reference to the following topics: circumnutations, tropisms and the endogenous oscillator model; the evolutionary patterns of auxin action; the root-brain hypothesis; phloem structure and photosynthesis research; endosymbioses and growth-promoting bacteria; photomorphogenesis and phenotypic plasticity; basal metabolic rate, the Pfeffer–Kleiber relationship and metabolic optimality theory with respect to adaptive evolution; and developmental constraints versus functional equivalence in relationship to directional natural selection. Based on a review of these various fields of inquiry, we deduce the existence of a Darwinian (evolutionary) approach to Plant Physiology and define this emerging scientific discipline as the experimental study and theoretical analysis of the functions of green, sessile organisms from a phylogenetic perspective.
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Evolutionary Plant Physiology: Charles Darwin's forgotten synthesis
Naturwissenschaften, 2009Co-Authors: Ulrich Kutschera, Karl J. NiklasAbstract:Charles Darwin dedicated more than 20 years of his life to a variety of investigations on higher Plants (angiosperms). It has been implicitly assumed that these studies in the fields of descriptive botany and experimental Plant Physiology were carried out to corroborate his principle of descent with modification. However, Darwin's son Francis, who was a professional Plant biologist, pointed out that the interests of his father were both of a physiological and an evolutionary nature. In this article, we describe Darwin's work on the Physiology of higher Plants from a modern perspective, with reference to the following topics: circumnutations, tropisms and the endogenous oscillator model; the evolutionary patterns of auxin action; the root-brain hypothesis; phloem structure and photosynthesis research; endosymbioses and growth-promoting bacteria; photomorphogenesis and phenotypic plasticity; basal metabolic rate, the Pfeffer-Kleiber relationship and metabolic optimality theory with respect to adaptive evolution; and developmental constraints versus functional equivalence in relationship to directional natural selection. Based on a review of these various fields of inquiry, we deduce the existence of a Darwinian (evolutionary) approach to Plant Physiology and define this emerging scientific discipline as the experimental study and theoretical analysis of the functions of green, sessile organisms from a phylogenetic perspective.
Ulrich Kutschera - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Julius Sachs (1868): The father of Plant Physiology
American Journal of Botany, 2018Co-Authors: Ulrich Kutschera, Karl J. NiklasAbstract:The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Julius von Sachs' (1832-1897) Lehrbuch der Botanik (Textbook of Botany), which provided a comprehensive summary of what was then known about the Plant sciences. Three years earlier, in 1865, Sachs produced the equally impressive Handbuch der Experimental-Physiologie der Pflanzen (Handbook of Experimental Plant Physiology), which summarized the state of knowledge in all aspects of the discipline known today as Plant Physiology. Both of these books provided numerous insights based on Sachs' seminal experiments. By virtue of a reliance on detailed empirical observation and the rigorous application of chemical and physical principles, it is fair to say that the publication of these two monumental works marked the beginning of what can be called "modern-day" Plant science. Moreover, Sachs' Lehrbuch der Botanik prefigured the ascendance of Plant molecular biology and the systems biology of photoautotrophic organisms. Regrettably, many of the insights of this great scientist have been forgotten by the generations who followed. It is only fitting, therefore, that the anniversary of the publication of the Lehrbuch der Botanik and the career of "the father of Plant Physiology" should be honored and reviewed, particularly because Sachs established the Physiology of green organisms as an integral branch of botany and incorporated a Darwinian perspective into Plant biology. Here we highlight key insights, with particular emphasis on Sachs' detailed discussion of sexual reproduction at the cellular level and his endorsement of Darwinian evolution.
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Evolutionary Plant Physiology: Charles Darwin’s forgotten synthesis
Naturwissenschaften, 2009Co-Authors: Ulrich Kutschera, Karl J. NiklasAbstract:Charles Darwin dedicated more than 20 years of his life to a variety of investigations on higher Plants (angiosperms). It has been implicitly assumed that these studies in the fields of descriptive botany and experimental Plant Physiology were carried out to corroborate his principle of descent with modification. However, Darwin’s son Francis, who was a professional Plant biologist, pointed out that the interests of his father were both of a physiological and an evolutionary nature. In this article, we describe Darwin’s work on the Physiology of higher Plants from a modern perspective, with reference to the following topics: circumnutations, tropisms and the endogenous oscillator model; the evolutionary patterns of auxin action; the root-brain hypothesis; phloem structure and photosynthesis research; endosymbioses and growth-promoting bacteria; photomorphogenesis and phenotypic plasticity; basal metabolic rate, the Pfeffer–Kleiber relationship and metabolic optimality theory with respect to adaptive evolution; and developmental constraints versus functional equivalence in relationship to directional natural selection. Based on a review of these various fields of inquiry, we deduce the existence of a Darwinian (evolutionary) approach to Plant Physiology and define this emerging scientific discipline as the experimental study and theoretical analysis of the functions of green, sessile organisms from a phylogenetic perspective.
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Evolutionary Plant Physiology: Charles Darwin's forgotten synthesis
Naturwissenschaften, 2009Co-Authors: Ulrich Kutschera, Karl J. NiklasAbstract:Charles Darwin dedicated more than 20 years of his life to a variety of investigations on higher Plants (angiosperms). It has been implicitly assumed that these studies in the fields of descriptive botany and experimental Plant Physiology were carried out to corroborate his principle of descent with modification. However, Darwin's son Francis, who was a professional Plant biologist, pointed out that the interests of his father were both of a physiological and an evolutionary nature. In this article, we describe Darwin's work on the Physiology of higher Plants from a modern perspective, with reference to the following topics: circumnutations, tropisms and the endogenous oscillator model; the evolutionary patterns of auxin action; the root-brain hypothesis; phloem structure and photosynthesis research; endosymbioses and growth-promoting bacteria; photomorphogenesis and phenotypic plasticity; basal metabolic rate, the Pfeffer-Kleiber relationship and metabolic optimality theory with respect to adaptive evolution; and developmental constraints versus functional equivalence in relationship to directional natural selection. Based on a review of these various fields of inquiry, we deduce the existence of a Darwinian (evolutionary) approach to Plant Physiology and define this emerging scientific discipline as the experimental study and theoretical analysis of the functions of green, sessile organisms from a phylogenetic perspective.
Alisdair R Fernie - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the central regulation of Plant Physiology by adenylates
Trends in Plant Science, 2010Co-Authors: Peter Geigenberger, David Riewe, Alisdair R FernieAbstract:There have been many recent developments concerning the metabolic, transport and signalling functions of adenylates in Plants, suggesting new roles for these compounds as central regulators of Plant Physiology. For example, altering the expression levels of enzymes involved in the equilibration, salvaging, synthesis and transport of adenylates leads to perturbations in storage, growth and stress responses, implying a role for adenylates as important signals. Furthermore, sensing of the internal energy status involves SNF1-related kinases, which control the expression and phosphorylation of key metabolic enzymes. ATP also acts as an apoplastic signalling molecule to control cell growth and pathogen responses. These new results could shed light on the emerging question of whether energy homeostasis in Plant cells differs from mechanisms found in microbes and mammals.
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sucrose to starch a transition in molecular Plant Physiology
Trends in Plant Science, 2002Co-Authors: Alisdair R Fernie, Lothar Willmitzer, Richard N TretheweyAbstract:The major flux in potato tuber carbon metabolism is the conversion of sucrose through hexose phosphates to starch. The enzymes that mediate this pathway are well characterized, the genes that encode them have been cloned and transgenic Plants have been generated. These transgenic studies have confirmed hypotheses based on more indirect methods, but they have also generated new challenges by highlighting the enormous flexibility and complexity inherent in Plant metabolism. The investigation of the sucrose-to-starch transition in potato tubers is an excellent example of how the discipline of molecular Plant Physiology is evolving at both the scientific and technical levels.
Richard N Trethewey - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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sucrose to starch a transition in molecular Plant Physiology
Trends in Plant Science, 2002Co-Authors: Alisdair R Fernie, Lothar Willmitzer, Richard N TretheweyAbstract:The major flux in potato tuber carbon metabolism is the conversion of sucrose through hexose phosphates to starch. The enzymes that mediate this pathway are well characterized, the genes that encode them have been cloned and transgenic Plants have been generated. These transgenic studies have confirmed hypotheses based on more indirect methods, but they have also generated new challenges by highlighting the enormous flexibility and complexity inherent in Plant metabolism. The investigation of the sucrose-to-starch transition in potato tubers is an excellent example of how the discipline of molecular Plant Physiology is evolving at both the scientific and technical levels.
Ulo Niinemets - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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urban Plant Physiology adaptation mitigation strategies under permanent stress
Trends in Plant Science, 2015Co-Authors: Carlo Calfapietra, Josep Penuelas, Ulo NiinemetsAbstract:Urban environments that are stressful for Plant functionand growth will become increasingly widespread infuture. In this opinion article, we define the concept of‘urban Plant Physiology’, which focuses on Plantresponses and long term adaptations to urban condi-tions andonthecapacityofurbanvegetationtomitigateenvironmental hazards in urbanized settings such as airand soil pollution. Use of appropriate control treatmentswould allow for studies in urban environments to becomparable to expensive manipulative experiments. Inthis opinion article, we propose to couple twoapproaches, based either on environmental gradientsor manipulated gradients, to develop the concept ofurban Plant Physiology for assessing how single ormultiple environmental factors affect the key environ-mental services provided by urban forests.Urban environments as test beds for Plant physiologicalstudiesFrom hundredstothousandsofPlantspeciesgrowinurbanenvironments, providing rich species pools to study thediversity of responses to stressful conditions. AnalyzingPlant responsestourbanconditions,definedhereas‘urbanPlant Physiology’, represents an important opportunity togain an insight into immediate physiological responses,tolerance of Plants, and the extent and mechanisms ofshort and long term Plant adaptations. Woody speciesare particularly important in this context, because of theirlongevity andthepossibilityofstudyingthemechanismsoflong term adaptation. Moreover, dendrochronology basedon tree ring analysis offers an unique opportunity toretrospectively investigate how tree growth has changedwith past urban conditions, including water availabilityand temperature [1,2].Provided that Plants cope with altered conditions simi-larlyinurbanenvironmentsandinlaboratoryexperimentssimulating climate change, urban microenvironmentalconditions can represent a unique ‘open lab’ where envi-ronmental manipulations occur at no cost and without therestrictions of the laboratory. Therefore, Plants growing inurban environments are a resource that could be exploitedmuch more by researchers studying how future environ-mental changes affect Plants. This opportunity appliesmainly, but not exclusively, to conditions such as hightemperatures (the ‘urban heat island effect’, [3]) or highconcentrations of pollutants in air, water, or soil. It isimportant to highlight that the heat island effect is highlystressful for Plants in hot climates, but can be beneficial incold environments by prolonging the growing season ofsome species as well as bringing the rate of Plant physio-logical processes closer to their thermal optimum [4].In the urban Plant Physiology approach, scientistsshould consider particularly the transition zones betweenurban centers and rural and natural areas, including theurban–ruralinterface.Thisinterfacerepresentsagradientof stress conditions and thus provides a scene for uniquecasestudiesalongstressgradients.Ideallythecollectionofdata in selected experimental plots along this gradientshould allow for the study of the impact of a single specificfactor or multiple factors on target Plant physiologicalprocesses.Unfortunately,despitetheresearchpossibilitiesoffered by the urban environment, urban vegetationremains an underused resource for predicting the perfor-mance of Plants under future conditions.The studies on the effects of the components of globalchange, such as carbon dioxide (CO
